How Lenora Defends Berk
by Brightfire15
Summary: Sequel to "How Lenora Trains Her Dragon." Five years after the battle of Red Death, Lenora's living the life she's always dreamed of. But Lenora's happiness is disrupted when a dangerous foe from the past returns to seek vengeance on Berk and claim Lenora as his own. Lenora must use all her courage and reunite with a face from the past if she's to save the future of them all. R&R!
1. Dragon Racing

**How Lenora Defends Berk**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing**

 **Dragon Racing**

Long ago, there was a little-known Viking village called Berk.

At first glance, the village of Berk didn't look like much, it didn't even look like what one would expect of a normal Viking village but looks could be deceiving and that wet piece of rock packed quite a few surprises. Up until five years previously, Berk had a reputation for being home to the bravest, fiercest and most stubborn of dragon-slaying Viking warriors and for being the center of the Great War between dragons and humans.

Now while Berk's Vikings were still brave, fierce and stubborn— _every_ Viking had stubbornness issues—Berk no longer had a dragon raiding problem and nor was there even a war between humans and dragons anymore. And it was all because of one misfit Viking woman called Lenora Horrendous Haddock the Third, the only daughter of Chief Stoick the Vast, dared to defy tradition and do what no Viking before her had ever done—befriend and train a dragon and not just any dragon, but a Night Fury, the rarest and most mysterious of all known dragons.

Because of Lenora's actions, the evil plague that was the Dragon Queen, also known as Red Death, was vanquished and dragons were free of her tyrannical rule. With their freedom granted and under Lenora's guidance, Berk had enjoyed a glorious era of peace and alliance with the dragons. The people of Berk took care of the dragons and treated them with respect and love, and in return, the dragons protected the Berkians as they would their own blood-kin.

Berk had changed for the better and all because of one woman's courage and stubbornness. Now while the past five years had been some of the best of Lenora's life and life on Berk was amazing, it wasn't exactly for the faint of heart, mostly because of Berk's annual sport. Most villages had sports like a regatta, croquet or knife-throwing, but Berk had dragon racing.

It was a chilly winter day but the skies were clear and the sun was out, making it a beautiful day, but not exactly a happy one for the sheep that got snatched out of its hiding place by Fishlegs, who was riding his beloved Gronckle, Puffskin.

He let out a cheer at his success and looked pretty smug until Snotlout swooped in on his Monstrous Nightmare, Firewyrm, and knocked the sheep out of Fishlegs' grasp and took it for his own.

"I'm sorry, Fishlegs! Did you want this?" jeered Snotlout.

Fishlegs scowled in frustration. "Snotlout, that was mine!"

He tried to snatch it back, but Snotlout dodged Fishlegs and then tossed the sheep into Ruffnut's arms as she flew by on her two-headed Monstrous Zippleback, Smoke and Sparks, with her twin brother, Tuffnut.

"Here you go, babe," said Snotlout. "Did I tell you that you look amazing today? Because you do, by the way."

Ruffnut looked disgusted at Snotlout's attempts at flirting. "Ugh! C'mon, Smoke, it's starting to stink around here."

Smoke nodded and then began spewing out gas.

Tuffnut laughed and gave Snotlout a smug look as the latter pouted. "Nope! She still hates you! Let's blow this place, Sparks!"

Right on cue, Sparks lit up Smoke's gas, causing Snotlout to yelp as the gas exploded and then he was knocked off his dragon and had to be rescued by Lenora and Toothless, who swooped in and saved him before he got hurt.

"You okay, Snot?" she asked.

"I'm fine. Thanks for the sav, little cousin," said Snotlout, as he leapt back onto Firewyrm. "C'mon, let's do this!"

Lenora laughed as they lapped around Berk and Ruffnut tossed the sheep into the basket she shared with Tuffnut, granting them another point in the game. Normally, the twins would be paired off with one of the other riders, but not this year. Like with most Viking sporting events, the fifth year was when the rules got changed around a bit and dragon racing was no different. For that year's dragon race, Stoick and the riders had decided that instead of teams, it was every dragon rider for his or herself and it was proving to be a real exciting game that year.

So far, Lenora and Aster were tied with seven points, Ruffnut and Tuffnut had five while Fishlegs and Snotlout had yet to score—mostly because they kept giving Ruffnut their sheep.

As Snotlout flew beneath Aster, the latter took the chance to lean down and smack Snotlout upside the head and scowl at him.

"What're you _doing_ Snotlout? I thought you said you wanted to win this year!" said Aster. He was not being a sore loser or showing poor sportsmanship, Aster just didn't understand why Snotlout was helping Ruffnut and Tuffnut win when earlier that day, he'd declared his intentions to be a winner and Snotlout disliked how boastful the twins got when they won at things.

"I changed my mind!" said Snotlout, in the tone of explaining something obvious. "Besides, Ruffnut is my princess and she wants to win! Whatever my princess wants, she gets! Besides, you should know better than anyone that when a man loves a woman, their will is no longer their own."

Aster couldn't help it, he gagged. "You're trying to date _Ruffnut?!_ " he said, incredulously. Ruffnut was a lovely young woman, a fierce Viking warrior and a decent dragon rider, but there were some things about her that made her difficult to love. Her tendency to act insane and her devotion to the God of Mischief, for starters. "Are you out of your mind? Out of the women in the world, you're chasing after the woman who tried to bury you alive last week?"

Snotlout just laughed. "Only for a few hours! Besides, people always do crazy things when they're in love! Isn't that right, Lenora?"

"Absolutely," said Lenora, looking amused as Toothless laughed in agreement.

Suddenly, Hookfang, a Monstrous Nightmare belonging to Gustave Larsen, cried out, " _Lenora! One of the Gronckle hatchlings coughed up fire on the Great Hall!_ "

"Ah, crap!" muttered Lenora. "I'll be right back, guys!"

In an attempt to better understand the dragons, Lenora had studied their language and worked with the dragons for countless hours until she became fluent in what she called "dragonese." She could understand Toothless perfectly when he spoke to her and could even speak to him in his native tongue. It had proven to be a very useful skill over the last few years.

It hadn't been the only useful thing Lenora had managed to do over the years. Since she was six years old, Lenora had been apprenticed to Gobber, Berk's blacksmith and her godfather. Combined with Gobber's mentoring and her own ingenuity, Lenora had designed custom-made stables both above and underground for the dragons to reside in, a special feeding station that constantly brought in fresh fish for the dragons to eat, special pools for the dragons to bathe in, a stall for saddle repairs and healing dragon injuries and illnesses, and most important of all: a top-of-the-line fire prevention system.

It was quite a change from a time when Lenora's inventions would've been looked down on and rejected, now they were admired by the village, much like Lenora herself.

Quickly, Lenora swooped in and unblocked the aqueduct that was connected to the waters surrounding Berk. The result was instantaneous, the fire was extinguished before any real damage could be done, which was a relief.

Suddenly, a horn was blown, signaling the final lap in the game.

"The black sheep! Come on, Toothless!" said Lenora. "Speed it up!"

Toothless purred and then picked up the speed.

Stoick cheered on in pride as Lenora swooped by his seat that overlooked the game. "That's my girl! Come on, Lenora, you can win this!"

Lenora smiled under Stoick's praise.

Gone were the times when Lenora hopelessly tried to win her father's approval and struggled to communicate and connect with him. Now, she and Stoick were closer than any father and daughter could be. Stoick now took time to talk and listen to Lenora and praised her for what she was instead of criticizing what she tried to be and they bonded over their many shared interests, including dragon riding. Since acquiring his own dragon, a Rumblehorn he'd dubbed Skullcrusher, Stoick had come to love flying as much as Lenora did and they often spent time flying together. It was everything Lenora had ever dreamed of and more.

As Lenora and the other dragon riders speed up, Gobber launched the black sheep via Snotlout's new invention—a sheep launching catapult. Whoever caught the black sheep and placed it in the scoring pen would win ten point and therefore win the game.

Aster was nearest and tried to catch the black sheep, Fishlegs came out of nowhere and Puffskin snatched it up with her front paws.

"Yes! Way to go, girl!" said Fishlegs. A dreamy look crossed Fishleg's face as Ruffnut came up to steal the black sheep. "Here you go, my darling! Mine's worth _ten_ points!"

Ruffnut caught the black sheep as Fishlegs tossed it to her. "Yes! The black sheep!"

Aster couldn't believe his eyes. "Wait a second, Fish! You and Snotlout are fighting over Ruffnut?!"

"You didn't know?" Lenora sounded surprised. "Fishlegs and Snotlout have been crushing on Ruffnut for _ages!_ "

" _What?!_ " exclaimed Aster.

Although, honestly, it was hard to tell sometimes if Fishlegs and Snotlout had crushes on Ruffnut because they cared about her or because she was the only girl of their age left on Berk who wasn't already claimed by another Viking gentleman. And to be frank, Lenora didn't think Snotlout and Fishlegs' chances were good. For one, despite how romantic it seemed in stories, two men fighting over a woman's affections really wasn't all that impressive. And two, Lenora knew for a fact that Ruffnut didn't see Snotlout _or_ Fishlegs that way. But since there was no persuading the two men otherwise, Lenora was letting things run their course.

"I'm totally winning!" said Ruffnut, thrilled.

"We're winning together!" said Fishlegs, with a hopeful look on his face.

Ruffnut scowled and let out an exasperated noise as she smacked Fishlegs away, causing him to collide with Snotlout.

"Whoo-hoo! No one can stop me now!" cheered Ruffnut.

Tuffnut scowled at his twin sister's bragging. Clearly disliking the fact that she was claiming their victory for herself and deciding _he_ wanted all their victory, Tuffnut invoked an age-old tradition of starting a petty squabble with his sibling that cost them the game.

"Except for me! We're attached, genius!" said Tuffnut. He reached over and grabbed the black sheep, starting a tug-of-war struggle. "Quit trying to steal my glory!"

"Hey!" said Ruffnut, indignantly.

Aster and Lenora shared a look and then Lenora nodded at Aster. He smiled at her and then leapt into action. Taking advantage of the twins' bickering, Aster carefully stood onto of his Deadly Nadder, Brightscales, Aster leapt onto Smoke and Sparks, ran up to the black sheep and swiped it from under the twins' noses before he leapt back onto Brightscales' back.

"Gotcha!" said Aster, triumphantly.

"Aster!" whined the twins.

Stoick cheered. "Ha-ha! Way to go, Aster! That's my future son-in-law!" he said, proudly to Spitelout, who was scowling.

Because Aster was everyone's favorite male Viking of Lenora's age, it would be easy to believe that Stoick was merely playing favorites. But he wasn't. He was speaking the truth about Aster's future role in his family.

Over the last five years, Lenora's relationship with Aster had progressed greatly. Following the Battle of Red Death, they'd agreed to a long courtship and though they'd had their ups and downs over the last few years, they were still very much in love and they'd stayed together no matter what life had thrown their way. After several years of courting, Aster decided to take the next step in his relationship with Lenora. One month ago, he'd acquired the permission and blessing of Stoick, Gobber and Toothless and proposed marriage to Lenora.

Aster and Lenora now wore betrothal necklaces everyday as a mark of their engagement. Every Viking's betrothal necklace was different but also quite beautiful and special and Aster had made sure that Lenora's was the most special and beautiful of all. Her betrothal necklace consisted of the image of a Night Fury with its tail curved protectively around an emerald. Aster had chosen the Night Fury because he felt that it, like Lenora, was one of a kind, and an emerald because it reminded him of the green of Lenora's eyes.

Not long after Aster proposed, Lenora gave Aster a special betrothal necklace for him of her own making. His betrothal necklace consisted of the image of a Deadly Nadder with tiny, rare bright blue aquamarines masterfully crafted to resemble the dragon's spikes. Lenora had chosen the Deadly Nadder because she felt that it was like Aster—a bit spiky on the outside, but a mighty, pure-hearted soul on the inside, and she thought the blue gemstones were similar to Aster's eyes.

The young couple was to be married in the springtime and it was hard to say who was more excited for the celebration: Lenora and Aster or the rest of Berk. It wasn't everyday a Chief's heir got married and it affected the future of the entire tribe, not to mention everyone loved Aster and Lenora, so naturally everyone on Berk was offering their help and advice for the wedding and doing their best to ensure that Lenora and Aster's wedding was perfect.

As Aster prepared to score, Fishlegs came up from behind and Snotlout came up in front, armed with a huge hammer.

"Excuse me, Aster," said Snotlout, as he prepared to strike.

"Aster, duck!" yelled Lenora.

Aster reacted fast. "Brightscales!"

Quickly, Brightscales took a nosedive, causing Snotlout to accidentally strike Fishlegs and them to both crash. With some difficulty as he had just avoided a big crash, Aster managed to steer Brightscales under the bridge and then high up above, and as soon as he had a shot, he tossed the black sheep into his scoring pen.

Everyone cheered and applauded Aster's victory.

"And that's seventeen! Aster Hofferson wins the game!" said Stoick.

Aster thrust out his arms and let out a victory cry. He turned a faint shade of pink when Lenora flew up beside him and kissed his cheek.

"Congratulations, Handsome," she said.

"Thanks, Beautiful," said Aster. "Couldn't have done it without you." He reached out and gently kissed her on the lips, causing everyone's cheers to grow louder.

Lenora smiled as she considered her good fortune. She was accepted by her people, she had the close relationship with Stoick that she'd always wanted, she had the greatest friend she could ask for in Toothless, there was peace and prosperity between them and the dragons and she was engaged to one of the finest Vikings in the world. It was wonderful.

With all of her hard work paid off, Lenora's life on Berk was perfect, which was a good thing, because with Vikings on the backs of dragons, the world became so much bigger.

 _A/N: Until HTTYD2 was released, I was under the impression that Stoick's wife, Hiccup's mother, was dead and since I didn't know how she'd died, I made up my own reason for it. (Hence why I said she died of a sickness) When the movie was released and I found out Stoick's wife was alive, I wasn't very pleased with finding out that Val stayed away all those years of her own choice as it felt to me that she'd more or less abandoned her son, which I was_ not _okay with. However, as she's a key factor in the story, I came up with a (hopefully) more satisfactory explanation as to her return from the dead and why she was gone for so long. And also, just in case anyone's wondering, Stoick is_ NOT _going to die. I hated that they killed him off. Complete overkill!_


	2. Stoick's Decision

**Stoick's Decision**

Later that night after the victory celebrations were over, Lenora was in her bedroom, brushing Toothless' scales while softly singing to him. The Night Fury had his head in her lap and was purring under her touch.

For over five years, despite their rocky first meeting—when Lenora had unintentionally crippled him—Toothless had been Lenora's most trusted and loyal friend, her protector and confidante. As Lenora had continued to help Toothless fly with a prosthetic tailfin she'd made herself, their friendship had strengthened and they considered each other family, and as such, Toothless was never very far from Lenora. They both preferred it that way. But it was amazing to see such a fierce and mighty creature sometimes bearing great resemblance to a fat, contented housecat like he was now.

" _You and me together, we'll be forever you'll see. We'll always be good company, you and me. Just wait and see…_ " she sang, as she ran the brush over Toothless' head for the last time that night. "There. All done, buddy."

Toothless whined in displeasure. " _No. Just a little more, please?_ " Toothless loved being groomed as Lenora knew exactly how he liked it and it always made him feel happy and safe, and sometimes he fell asleep underneath her soothing touch.

Lenora chuckled at her friend and shook her head. "No. That's enough for one night. We wouldn't want to over brush you and damage those pretty scales of yours, now would we?"

Toothless' ears drooped as he shook his head. For a moment, it seemed as though, he was going to be sulking the rest of the night but then he perked up when he saw a large chest in the corner of the room, a chest that had not been there before the race that morning.

Eagerly, he bound over to it and sniffed it like an eager puppy. Toothless didn't know what was in the chest, but the fact that it was new to him made him very excited. He let out an excited noise as he wagged his tail.

"Toothless, what's gotten into—oh, great. It arrived," said Lenora. She sighed in relief. She'd been expecting the chest to arrive and had almost begun to fear that it wouldn't. It contained items very dear to her and were invaluable to her future plans.

" _What's in it?_ " asked Toothless, impatiently.

"This is what I'm wearing for my wedding. I had it brought out of storage. Do you want to want to see it, Toothless?"

Toothless purred and eagerly nodded as Lenora bent down, unlocked and opened the chest.

Inside the chest was her mother's white silk wedding dress, beautifully embroidered with pearls and diamonds in an elegant pattern. Inside three smaller boxes in the chest was a silver diadem with shining flowers and leaves, a pair of pearl earrings and a diamond necklace that had been handed down from mother to daughter in Lenora's family for generations.

Unable to help herself, Lenora undressed and then carefully put on her mother's wedding dress and jewelry. Lenora let her hair out of its braid, allowing it to fall into beautiful, silky brown waves that reached her waist. When Lenora looked at herself in the full-length mirror hanging on her wall, she barely recognized herself, and for a moment she swore she felt her mother's presence beside her.

Five years ago, if you'd asked, Lenora never would've thought herself as beautiful. She used to be an unconfident, skinny, gangly young girl with dull brown hair, but that was not so now. Now, it seemed something magical had happened. Lenora's hair had taken on a reddish shine and was softer and silkier, her features stood out more and often complimented on; and while she was still slender, she wasn't quite the human twig she used to be, she'd filled out more and nor was she unconfident. She'd even grown a few inches more. It was as though once Lenora no longer confined by the restrictions of her old life, she emerged from her cocoon and became a beautiful butterfly. Either way, it was working Lenora's favor and she liked what she'd become over the last five years.

"What do you think, bud? Do I look beautiful?" she asked.

Toothless purred and nodded. He thought she looked perfect.

"Thanks, buddy," said Lenora. She smiled as she rubbed the underside of his chin. A knock on the door caused her to look up. "Who is it?"

"It's me," said Stoick. "Can I come in?"

"Sure, Dad. Door's open," said Lenora.

The door swung open and Stoick came in. "Lenora, I need to talk to you. It's—Odin's beard!" Stoick looked at Lenora as though he'd seen a ghost and then his eyes filled with tears that he quickly wiped away with the back of his hand.

"Daddy, what's wrong?" asked Lenora, concerned.

Though Stoick was a loving father, he rarely cried, and for him to do so now meant either he was very happy or very sad.

"Nothing. Nothing. It's just…for a moment I thought I was looking at your mother," said Stoick, his voice raw with emotion. "You look just like she did on our wedding day in that dress."

Lenora's heart swelled with joy and she smiled. "I wanted to wear something of hers for the wedding. I thought it would be like having her there." Being the Chief's daughter, Lenora could've had her pick of the finest wedding gown and jewels in the archipelago, but she'd chosen that which had worth beyond measure because of what it meant to her. "And I wanted to be as beautiful as she was on her wedding day."

It had been seventeen years and there still wasn't a day that'd gone by when Val, Lenora's late mother and Stoick's wife, wasn't missed. Lenora wished Val was there, now more than ever, for her upcoming wedding. She longed to have Val there to help her prepare and shower her with love and one day spoil Lenora's children as a proud grandmother.

Stoick looked visibly touched, which was quite a feat. "Well, if your mother were here, she would be as proud of you as I am. This is what she always wanted for you, Nora, to be accomplished and happy with someone you love. And if she were here, she'd say you were one of the most beautiful brides she'd ever seen and I would agree with her, because you are. Aster is so lucky to have you by his side as his wife."

"Thanks, Dad," said Lenora. It touched her heart in more ways in one to hear Stoick say that, for it meant everything to her. She felt ready to burst with excitement. All her life, she'd dreamed of being someone her family could be proud of; she'd dreamt of her wedding day, dreamt of marrying Aster and soon her dream would come true. It hardly seemed real. "Sometimes, it still feels like a dream and I'm about to wake up."

"I know the feeling," said Stoick. His eyes filled with tears again and he sniffled. "Oh, Thor. Look at me, crying like a wee baby, and who can blame me? My baby girl's all grown up and leaving the nest. Thor Almighty…"

"Oh, Daddy…" Lenora took her father's hand into hers and gently touched his cheek with the other. Stoick's reaction was only to be expected as no father truly wanted to give away his daughter to a young man, no matter how worthy that young man may be. "I'm not getting married until springtime. And besides, I'm not leaving you. Not really. Aster and I will only be gone on our honeymoon for two weeks. And even afterwards when Aster's moved in, I'm still going to be living on Berk, and I'll still be living here and see you all the time. Besides, you should know that no matter how much I grow up, I will _always_ be your baby girl. Nothing will ever change that, I promise."

Stoick smiled at Lenora's attempts to cheer him up and he kissed her head. "I know. It just seems like it was only yesterday that you were a wee babe and now here you are, about to marry Aster. I can't believe it."

"Time's flown rather quickly," said Lenora, as Toothless crooned in agreement. The last few years had gone by in the blink of an eye, it seemed. An idea then struck her. "Hey, my dancing still needs some work. Would you like to help me practice for _our_ dance?"

Traditionally after a wedding ceremony, there was a party to celebrate and at the party, the bride shared a special dance with her father. It was a precious moment between father and daughter, a non-verbal way of saying how much they loved each other and how proud the father was of his daughter before he let her go spread her wings and live a new life with her intended. Lenora loved those dances and she knew that the best way to make Stoick happy was to have him help her.

"I would love to," said Stoick.

He took Lenora's right hand in his, placed her left one on his shoulder and placed his left hand on her waist before taking a step backwards as she stepped forward. As they continued making a serious of dance steps around the room, Stoick surprised Lenora by picking her up and twirling her around, and Toothless watched and purred at their antics. Most of Stoick and Lenora's "dancing," for the next half an hour was just them being silly and having fun, but since it was making Stoick happy and Lenora was also enjoying herself, she had no complaints. Being in her father's arms made her feel safe and happy and their dancing made her feel like a carefree child again. It was wonderful.

When their dancing was done, they were both out of breath but pleased, and then Lenora took the chest and went behind her dressing screen to change into her pajamas. When she emerged, her wedding attire was safely locked up again and she was in her nightgown with her hair back in its usual long braid.

"So, anyway, what did you want to talk to me about, Dad?" she asked.

Stoick looked puzzled for a moment before he remembered. "What? Oh, yes." Stoick quickly regained his usual stoic composure and cleared his throat. "Lenora, we need to talk. Perhaps you'd better sit down."

Lenora raised an eyebrow but knew better than to question her father when he was like that, so she did as she was told. She sat down on the bed and Toothless curled up beside her as Stoick sat across from them on Lenora's desk chair.

Stoick cleared his throat once again, took a deep breath and then said, "Lenora, you're the pride of Berk and I couldn't be prouder. You're all grown up. These last five years, you have really stepped up and become the most amazing woman I've ever known. Now, lately, I've been doing some thinking and I've decided that on your wedding day, once the ceremony is completed, I will step down and declare you Chieftess of Berk."

Lenora's breath caught in her throat and she was rendered speechless. _Chieftess of Berk? Did I hear that right?_ For a moment, she couldn't believe what she'd heard, but then she couldn't deny it. Stoick had just announced his intentions to retire and pass on his crown to Lenora. She'd always known the time would come when she would take her rightful place as leader of Berk, but she'd never once imagined it would be so soon or like this.

"Dad…" she said, when she'd found her voice. "Are you sure about this?" She wasn't asking because she intended to refuse. No. She needed to make sure Stoick was certain of his choice and wouldn't regret it later. She knew how much leadership of Berk meant to him and despite the grey hairs woven into his red beard, he was still the greatest fighter Berk had ever known.

Stoick nodded. There was no hint of hesitation in his eyes. "I'm positive. I'm getting old, Nora. Now, I'll always be there if you or Berk needs me, but I'm ready to step down. I want to spend my golden years spoiling my grandchildren."

Lenora's face turned a shade of pink at the mention of grandchildren. She and Aster had talked about their future together as parents one day. Lenora had a duty to continue her bloodline, but more importantly, she and Aster longed to be parents of children of their own. Privately, in addition to a son like Aster, Lenora hoped for a little daughter she could name Val, for her mother.

"Okay, Dad," said Lenora. Ultimately, the title of tribe leader was in Stoick's hands and if retiring in the springtime was what he wanted, then Lenora would see his wish fulfilled. It was her duty as his daughter to accept the great honor and responsibility he was giving her. "If this is what you want, then I'll do it. But can I tell Aster about it first before you make the announcement?"

Stoick nodded. It was a perfectly reasonable request. After all, Stoick's future son-in-law had a right to know how much his life was going to change when the wedding day came.

"Of course," said Stoick. "I'm sure he'll be excited."

 _Excited is one way to put it_.

Aster was going to be in for a big shock.

 **XXX**

The following day, after Toothless woke Lenora up at dawn's early light by his favorite method—stomping on the rooftop of her house—Lenora checked her schedule and realized that she had the day off from her job as Head Dragon Instructor and Trainer. She was glad of it as it meant she had more time than usual to go out with Toothless for their morning flight and even test out her equipment, as she hoped it would help clear her head and give her the courage to tell Aster of Stoick's decision.

Toothless was more than happy to oblige with Lenora's wishes. Naturally, being the fastest dragon in the world, Toothless loved to fly, but he loved doing it with Lenora even more. One Snoggletog, Lenora had enabled him to fly on his own without her help, but Toothless had rejected it in favor of only ever flying with Lenora—further strengthening their bond.

The day was brisk and sunny, perfect flying weather.

There was a sharp whooshing sound as Toothless sped across the seemingly endless sea. Lenora lay on her stomach on Toothless' back, dressed in her new aerodynamic suit and helmet she'd designed. Changed hadn't just occurred in Berk's daily life, but also in her flying routine with Toothless. Over the years, Lenora had not only better upgraded Toothless' prosthetic tailfin and flying system, but her own prosthetic leg. Now her leg had different extensions for different situations and environments depending on what Lenora needed, which worked out marvelously.

As they swerved and flew around surfacing blue Thunderdrum dragons, Lenora sat up and pushed the stirrup, allowing Toothless to spin and dive under a Thunderdrum's wing as the sea dragon leapt up and dove back into the water. Toothless then went straight up into the skies and bellowed as they soared above, around and under the clouds. He rolled onto his back for a moment before nosediving downwards and then he spread his wings and gently glided for a few moment. Toothless then flew upwards and spun around for several moments before relaxing and falling backwards into the giant white clouds, soaking both him and Lenora, but neither of them took much notice or cared.

When Toothless ceased his dramatic fall, he performed a series of impressive aerodynamics as Lenora sat up straighter and extended her arms. She inhaled deeply as feelings of utter bliss and freedom washed over her.

 _My life in Berk is wonderful and I wouldn't change a thing, but this…this is true living._ Flying with Toothless like this was exhilarating, breathtaking and wonderful. Being out there alone with Toothless made her feel carefree and happy beyond words. When they were out there together, they were more than just a dragon and rider, they were one and little else mattered in the world. Not for the first time, Lenora wondered how she'd managed to live her life before Toothless became a part of it and she silently thanked the gods for the blessing that was the Night Fury.

As they came upon a flock of Timberjacks, Lenora pulled back on Toothless' saddle. "So, what do you think, buddy? You want to give this another shot?"

Knowing what Lenora was referring to, Toothless' pupils narrowed into tiny slits and his ears folded back as he let out a soft growl of displeasure.

Lenora laughed as she rubbed the Night Fury's ear. "Toothless! It'll be fine, trust me." In the event of an emergency, Lenora had invented away for her and Toothless to fly separately for a brief time and unfortunately, the previous test drives hadn't exactly been all that successful, hence Toothless' reluctance. But Lenora was sure she'd worked out the invention's issues and they were sure to have a successful test run this time.

" _If I must_ ," grumbled Toothless, good-naturedly.

Lenora shook her head as she pushed the stirrup, pulled on the steering lever, and unhooked herself from Toothless' flying gear.

"You ready?"

" _As I'll ever be_."

Lenora tilted to her right and slid off Toothless' back. As she dove down towards the sea, Toothless followed and the two encircled each other as Lenora cheered in delight. Toothless even made his signature toothless grin and stuck out his tongue.

As the sea came into view, Lenora slid her forearms through a pair of tucked leather flaps on her suit and yanked hard causing handcrafted leather wings to extend from under her arms and on the back of her suit. As Toothless extended his own wings and Lenora became used to the turbulence, she felt a wave of pride and a surge of adrenaline. Lenora glanced back at Toothless, who looked happy beyond measure that her flight suit was working and for the first time, they were almost exactly the same and they were able to fly together.

"This is amazing!" cried Lenora, excitedly. The sense of freedom it gave her was beyond words and she loved every moment of it. Being out there, defying gravity…if this was what was it was like to be a dragon, then Lenora secretly wished she could be one. The salt of the sea on her face, the brisk wind in her hair, the adrenaline pumping through her veins…it was incredible. "Whoo-hoo!"

Toothless bellowed in delight and let out a few blasts of fire in celebration of their victory.

Suddenly, the clouds dissipated and a large rock formation came into view. Lenora had no time to turn around.

"No longer amazing! Toothless!"

Toothless leapt into action. He blasted the rock, grabbed Lenora and protectively enfolded her into his wings as they collided with trees and rocks and tumbled down a steep hill until they finally landed in a patch of clover and grass.

Breathing hard and her heart pounding, Lenora switched the extension on her leg to the walking one and then slowly climbed out Toothless' protective embrace.

"Wow. That was exciting. That rock really came out of nowhere," said Lenora. She glanced behind her when she heard the sound of crumbling rocks and saw that the entire rock formation she'd almost collided with was crumbling into the sea.

Toothless, who'd been shaking his head to clear, let out a curious growl and gazed at the damage before giving Lenora an incredulous look for being unfazed by it all.

Lenora began stowing away the wings of her flight suit. "We really need to work on your solo-flying, Toothless." She folded the wings back up and reeled in the dorsal fin. "Your tailfin locking up won't do any good during an emergency, but we can fix it."

Once her gear was dealt with, Lenora took her helmet off and then stepped out onto the cliff's edge as gazed at the view before her. Out there, beyond the horizon among a massive cloud of silver mist, was another uncharted territory. Another thing Lenora had been doing had been exploring lands beyond the archipelago, marking them on her map and even discovering new dragon species and recording them in the Book of Dragons. Each exploration was a new and exciting adventure, no two the same. The territory that lay beyond her was beautiful.

"Wow. Looks like we found another one, bud," said Lenora. Although she knew she'd have to cut down on her explorations when she married and became Chieftess, Lenora had no intention of fully giving it up. There was still so much to explore, learn, see and do and so much knowledge out there that would greatly benefit her people and the dragons both now and in the future. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Toothless did not reply. He just let out an annoyed grunt before pelting the back of Lenora's head with a small pebble.

"Hey!" said Lenora, annoyed. She sighed in exasperation at the pouting look on the Night Fury's face and knew exactly what kind of mood he was in and why. _I can't believe I put up with this!_ "Oh, do you want an apology? Is that why you're pouting, you big baby?"

Toothless snorted as he turned his back to her. " _I'm not a big baby! But yes, I do want an apology. I want a hug_."

Lenora face palmed. "Oh, for the love of—! Well, try this on!" She dropped her helmet to the ground and wrapped her arms around Toothless' neck in an attempt to tackle and headlock him, but the dragon just gave her a bored look and paid her little mind. "Is this what you wanted? Is this a good enough hug for you?"

Toothless ignored her as he stood up and began walking on his back legs towards the cliff's edge.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. You wouldn't really hurt a one-legged—ACK!" Lenora clung to Toothless for dear life when she happened to look down below.

Toothless chortled.

"Yeah, yeah, very funny you overgrown lizard!" said Lenora. But there was no real heat in Lenora's tone. She knew Toothless just kidding and would never let anything happen to her. "You win. Okay? You win. You happy now?"

" _Very_ ," said Toothless. He took a few steps backwards and then rolled over onto his belly,

"She's down and it's ugly! Dragons and Vikings enemies again!" said Lenora, dramatically as she pretended to punch Toothless and the Night Fury playfully patted her with his front paw. "Locked in combat to the bitter end!" Lenora groaned dramatically when Toothless plonked his head down onto her chest.

And just like that, their little squabble was forgiven and forgotten. Lenora and Toothless could never stay angry with each other for long. They were too close for that. And then because Toothless considered Lenora his baby sister and treated her like such, he decided she needed a good grooming and began licking her.

"Yuck! Toothless, cut it out!" said Lenora, laughing. "That tickles! Okay, okay, I surrender!"

Toothless ceased licking Lenora and let her up as he purred and nuzzled her. " _I love you_."

Lenora gave Toothless a proper hug. "I love you too, buddy."

Toothless purred again and then turned his attention to grooming himself. He licked his left front paw and then rubbed it over his face to clean it.

While Toothless was busy, Lenora took out her map from her pocket and expanded it. She then took out a spare piece of parchment, applied an adhesive to it and attached it to her rather large map, which was illustrated with images of places she'd been and dragons she'd encountered. Lenora then took out her charcoal pencil and sharpened it before adjusting the compass attached to her wrist.

"So, what should we name it, do you think?" she asked. She glanced at Toothless, who was busy with an itch under his arm. "Itchy Armpit it is." She began drawing on the parchment as Toothless sniffed it. "What do you reckon we'll find out there, Toothless? A couple of Snaptrappers or some Typhoomerangs in the woods? Maybe a Whispering or Screaming Death in the rocks? Who knows, maybe we'll find you a lady Night Fury."

While the odds of finding another Night Fury were slim, Lenora never gave up hope that someday, she would find others like Toothless so he wouldn't be alone.

Toothless playfully patted Lenora's shoulder and then he shrugged. He didn't mind too much not having other Night Furies around. As far as Toothless was concerned, he had all the family he needed with Lenora.

"Well, regardless, do you want to just keep going? No one's expecting us back until dark. We could be out all day if we wanted," said Lenora.

" _Well…_ " Toothless was cut off when the sound of a Deadly Nadder's screech hit their ears.

Lenora's head perked up and she turned see Aster flying in on Brightscales. Once he descended from his dragon's back, Toothless ran up to Brightscales to play with her. They mimicked each other's expressions and speech before taking off to play a rambunctious game of tag.

"Afternoon, milady," said Aster.

"Hey, Aster," said Lenora, smiling. She didn't even ask how Aster had tracked her down. He always knew where to find her. "What've you been up today?"

"Trying to escape my crazy mother and her insane attempts to plan our wedding," said Aster, shuddering.

Ever since their engagement had been announced, Aster's mother had gone crazy trying to take over the wedding planning. She felt it was her duty as Lenora was the closest thing to a daughter she was ever going to have and Lenora had no mother. Mrs. Hofferson's efforts were appreciated but at the same time, everyone wished that she would slow down a little and remember it wasn't Mrs. Hofferson'swedding. More than once, Stoick had had to speak with her on the subject to get her to back off a little.

Lenora just shook her head. _What am I going to do with my future mother-in-law?_

"And what about you? You've been gone all morning. Where've _you_ been?" asked Aster.

"I needed to test my gear and clear my head. My dad decided to spring a little surprise on me last night," said Lenora. _Oh, Thor, please let him take this well!_ She was terrified over Aster's reaction. "And it's one that I really need to talk to you about. It's about us, our future."

Aster's brow wrinkled with worry. "That doesn't sound good. Don't tell he decided we can't get married after all?"

Lenora laughed at the look on her fiancé's face. "No, no. It's nothing like that." But she wouldn't put it past her dad to find some way to make time stop and keep Lenora a little girl and by his side forever, just like any other loving and protective father.

Aster sighed in relief. "Thank Thor. So what'd he say to get you so worked up, then?"

Lenora sighed. "Well, last night before I went to bed, I was trying on my mother's wedding dress, my dad came in and we had a special moment together, and it felt like all was right with the world. But then he decided to spring a little surprise on me." She rose up and did one of her famous accurate Stoick impressions, voice and all. "Nora, we need to talk."

"Not now, Dad," said Aster, in a high-pitched voice as he wiggled his shoulders. "I've got a whole day of goofing off to get started on."

Lenora sniggered at her fiancé's teasing imitation of her. "Okay, first of all, I don't sound like that. And second, what is that thing you're doing with my shoulders?"

Aster just laughed as he did it again.

"Yeah, that's a real flattering imitation." But Lenora wasn't offended. She was still laughing. "Anyway, he goes…" Lenora made herself look all proud and did a little walk around Aster. "You're the pride of Berk, Lenora, and I couldn't be prouder."

"Thanks, Dad. I'm pretty impressed with myself too!" said Aster, still imitating his fiancé.

Lenora began laughing harder at Aster's antics. "When have I ever done that with my hands?" she asked, as she mimicked the movement that Aster just performed.

"You just did!" Aster said, as he kept laughing.

Lenora was finding it hard to breathe from all the laughter as she sat down beside Aster and grasped his arms. "Yeah, yeah very funny. But seriously, hold still." Her face lost its amused expression and she looked serious, causing Aster to do the same. Lenora sighed again. "Aster…my dad's decided that he wants to retire and have the succession ceremony performed after our wedding ceremony's completed. Meaning we'll be taking over as Chief and Chieftess after we've returned from our honeymoon."

Lenora then braced herself for Aster's reaction. She didn't have to wait long.

Aster's face brightened with excitement and he immediately stood up, causing Lenora to rise up with him. "Really? Lenora, this is fantastic!"

Lenora felt a wave of relief. Though she'd always known that Aster knew what he was getting himself into by dating and then marrying the Chief's daughter, part of her had been afraid he'd reject the idea of becoming Chief so soon and without warning and she was glad she was wrong.

Aster leaned in to kiss her, only to be accidentally knocked down by Toothless and Brightscales as they played tag. He landed on top of Lenora, who grabbed his face and kissed him fiercely for a few moments before he helped her sit up and dust herself off.

"I can see why you needed some time alone after that announcement. This is a great honor. You must be so excited!" said Aster, as he wrapped his arm around her.

"Honored? Yes. Excited? Not quite so much. _Terrified?_ Absolutely," she admitted. Lenora bit her lip as she sighed yet again. "Aster…I've been preparing for this all my life. Why do I feel so afraid now that it's finally going to happen? You'd think I'd feel more ready for it."

For as long as she could remember, even though sometimes it had been questioned, Lenora had known she'd become Chieftess of Berk. She'd done everything she could to prepare for it. There had even been times over the last few years when Lenora had been Acting Chieftess when Stoick had to leave Berk for official business or when he'd been too ill to fulfill his duties, and she'd done a good job, but it'd never lasted longer than a couple of weeks at most. Knowing that this time when she took up her father's mantle, she'd keep it until she passed it on to her own heir or heiress was terrifying. It wasn't just the responsibility she was concerned about, it was also the shoes she'd have to fill.

"These last five years have been wonderful. Everything's changed for the better. Berk's changed, my dad's changed, _I've_ changed…but is it enough? Becoming Chieftess isn't just a responsibility, it's a legacy that I'm honor-bound to uphold. Berk will look to me, not just as a source of help and advice for dragon problems, but to protect them and lead them and some of them will always compare me to my parents. My mother's remembered for her wisdom, selflessness and compassion. My father's known for his bravery, strength and honor.

"I have been and always will be proud to be the daughter of Stoick the Vast and Valka the Gentle, but sometimes, I don't feel like I can ever compare to them and how could I? They're _them_ and I'm _me_. I have no regrets, but sometimes I wish that I had their ability to always know what to do and never doubt myself. And between you and me, Aster, part of me fears that the reason I don't feel ready for this is because I'm not. How do I know that I'm truly fit to be leader, that I can guide and protect our people for the rest of my life?"

 _Thor Almighty, look at me,_ she thought to herself. _I've faced so many dangerous without fear or thought of the consequences, never questioning that I was doing the right thing. I've befriended and helped a Night Fury fly, vanquished the Red Death, protected Berk and the dragons from Alvin the Outcast and Dagur the Deranged, changed my village's entire way of life and led them through so much when I had to. I've always put my people and my loved ones first. Becoming Chieftess was always my future, but now that I know when exactly it'll happen, I don't feel prepared for it at all. Why? Why must I feel so afraid?_

Aster hugged Lenora closer to him and gently caressed Lenora's cheek. "Lenora, listen to me. You're right, you have many of your parents' good qualities, but you're not Stoick or Val, and I'm glad of it because if you were, you wouldn't be the woman that I love. You shouldn't worry about that anyway. Lenora, you've come so far from what you used to be and I'm proud of you for it. These past five years, Berk's looked to and respected you for _you_ , the first dragon rider and the woman who was unafraid to step out and change our way of life for the better and they'll continue to do no matter what. And with all due respect for your family, you are going to be the finest Chieftess that Berk has ever known."

Lenora relaxed as she lovingly covered Aster's hand with her own and kissed the inside of his palm. He always did know how to cheer her up and quell her fears. Aster was right about what he was saying. She thought back on the last five years. She wasn't the same rejected girl anymore. She was a strong young woman accepted and loved by her people. She'd cared for them, led them through difficult times, she'd changed their lives for the better and always done what she thought was right, regardless of the consequences and she would continue to do so for the rest of her life. Being Chieftess wouldn't change that. She had the qualities of a great leader, she just needed to cease doubting herself and trust in her ability to do what was best for Berk and for herself.

 _Why do I always worry so much? All it does is upset me. There's nothing to be afraid of. One way or another, everything's going to be fine._

Aster rested his forehead against Lenora's. "There's still plenty of time to get used to idea of Stoick's retirement, and when the time comes, you'll be ready and you'll know that you are. But more importantly, when we become Chief and Chieftess, we'll do it like we've done everything else these past five years and we'll do it like we _will_ do everything else in the future, together. I'll be there with you every step of the way. And besides, your dad's still going to help you if you need it. Everything's going to be fine, I promise."

Lenora smiled and gently kissed her fiancé. "Thank you. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Nor I you," admitted Aster. He couldn't fathom a world where Lenora wasn't there beside him. She was his heart, his soul and he never wanted to be without her. "But we'll never have to find out, I promise you."

Lenora squeezed his hand and turned the subject to more pleasant things. "So, anyway, my dad also mentioned he's looking forward to spoiling his grandkids and I've been thinking, when we have children…being an only child can get lonely, especially if they find it hard to make friends with the other kids in the village, so…"

"So, we'll have a large family," said Aster, as his face lit up. "I can see it now. We'll have four or five little munchkins running around." He had a hopeful, wistful look on his face. "You know, if we could choose, I'd have our first-born be a little girl with brown hair, green eyes and her mother's smile and she'd be a master inventor just like her mama. And I'd name her Valka Lenora Horrendous Haddock."

Lenora giggled and smiled as she rested her head in the crook of Aster's neck. "Well, _I_ want our first-born to be a little blond, blue-eyed Viking gentleman like his father. I'd name him Finn Aster Hofferson." Finn had been the name of Aster's favorite uncle.

In all honesty, Lenora wouldn't mind if all their future children looked like their father. She knew she had no control over what happened with their future children, but it was a lovely dream. In Lenora's mind, she was already envisioning the children she and Aster would one day have. She could see Aster teaching them about courage and honor and how to be warriors and she saw herself passing down her knowledge of dragons while they played with Toothless.

"Whatever pleases you, will make me happy," said Aster. "As long as I'm with you, I'm complete." He placed a tender kiss on Lenora's lips that she returned. "I love you."

"I love you too," said Lenora.

For a moment, the young couple remained as they were, holding each other close and enjoying the moment, but then Lenora's brow wrinkled when she saw a large pillar of smoke in the distance, too large to be a campfire or kitchen stove fire, which mean only one thing—trouble.

"Aster…"

"I see it." Aster quickly rose to his feet and helped Lenora to stand. "Let's go."


	3. Dragon Trappers

**Dragon Trappers**

As Lenora and Aster flew towards the smoke on the backs of Toothless and Brightscales,

It wasn't long before they came upon a cloud of ash and soot surrounding a massive forest burnt black by dragon's fire. The damage was too great for any one dragon, which probably meant an entire flock of large ones—maybe Typhoomerangs or worse—had gone crazy and burnt the woods. It seemed a logical explanation given that there were no other signs of anything else occurring the woods.

But the biggest surprise of all came when they discovered an ice formation unlike anything they'd ever seen before. It was clearly unnatural as it was giant, the color of sea foam, spiky and looked as though it had been blown into formation.

"Holy crap…" whispered Lenora. "What happened here?" _Obviously a dragon's done this, but what kind of dragon breathes ice instead of fire?_ It was the only explanation Lenora could think of and while she was excited about the idea of a new dragon species, she also had the sinking feeling that the creature wasn't a friendly one. "Aster, stay close."

"No kidding," said Aster, as he gazed in awe and fear at the ice formation.

As they explored the ice, they could see human forts impaled on the ice and when they spotted gigantic dragon footprints in the mud, Lenora's suspicions were confirmed.

Toothless whimpered in fear. The last dragon with footprints that large had been the Red Death and Toothless still had nightmares about the years he'd spent living under Red Death's tyranny and how he'd almost lost Lenora to her.

" _Easy, bud_ ," murmured Lenora, in dragonese as she rubbed his cheek. " _It's okay_."

Toothless crooned in reply.

Aster suddenly gasped. "Lenora, look!"

"FIRE!"

Lenora yelped as Toothless dodged a net being flung at them. Armed men were down below in the remains of the wreckage and were firing at them. As Lenora dodged the attack, Aster did not and was knocked off Brightscales as the Deadly Nadder became trapped in the net.

"LENORA!" yelled Aster.

Quickly, Lenora swooped in and Toothless snatched Aster out of the air before he met his demise. They then went to rescue Brightscales, who'd bravely defended herself from her captors with her deadly spikes, only to end up pinned down by the men's leader, an arrogant buffoon that Aster recognized all too well.

"STOP!" yelled Lenora.

"Brightscales!" cried Aster. He quickly drew his sword as the dragon trappers threateningly held out their own spears and swords. "What do you think you're doing? Let my dragon go!"

"Do as he says!" commanded Lenora. She drew out her own blade, a special one she'd invented that became alight with dragon's fire. As she waved the blade around, Eret's met oohed and ahhed at the sight of it.

Eret, who'd been pinning Brightscales' head down, sneered. "Well, soil my britches! If it isn't little Aster Hofferson, all grown up and engaged! Isn't this a delightful surprise?"

Lenora frowned as she glanced at Aster. "You _know_ this idiot?"

Eret looked indignant. "Oi! Watch your tongue, little lady!"

Lenora scowled at Eret. How dare he speak to her like that?

Aster ignored him and his glare deepened. "Lenora, meet Eret son of Eret. He's a dragon trapper and one of the biggest morons I've ever met in my life. We met a trade fair when we were kids and used to be friends until he decided to use me to test out his dragon traps!"

Toothless, who'd been crouching defensively while snarling and hissing at anyone who dared come near, let out a plasma blast in front of the trappers' feet. If there was one thing Toothless hated, it was dragon trappers and people who dared harm his family. He already had half a mind to flambé Eret right then and there for hurting Aster and Brightscales.

Eret was unrepentant. "In my defense, you volunteered for my project. Not my fault you didn't bother asking me what the project was!"

"Enough!" said Lenora, loudly. "Look, why don't I make this simple for you? Gives us back Brightscales and I'll make sure my Night Fury leaves you all in one piece."

Instead of accepting Lenora's generous offer, Eret became intrigued and walked towards them. "A Night Fury, you say?" Eret's eyes widened when his gaze met Toothless' angry green one. "Oh, _my._ It _is_ a Night Fury. I thought they were all gone for good." Eret looked at Lenora with awe and respect as he knelt down on one knee and tried to kiss her hand. "Forgive me. I do believe we got off on the wrong foot. Anyone who can capture such a magnificent creature is a friend of mine. What might your name be, fair lady?"

Lenora gave Eret a disgusted look and pulled away just as Toothless nearly bit Eret's arm off and Aster held his sword under Eret's chin.

"My name is Lenora Valka Horrendous Haddock the Third, daughter of Stoick the Vast, Chief of Berk," she said, proudly.

At the mention of Lenora's name, Eret's men whispered amongst themselves as they backed away in fear. Clearly, they were smarter than Eret, as they knew better than to mess with Stoick's daughter. The last man to try had been Dagur the Deranged and everyone knew what had happened to that fool when Stoick had gotten ahold of him.

But Eret wasn't smart, because he didn't do as his men did. There was a glint in his eyes and he was grinning in satisfaction as he encircled them. "So, _you're_ the one. Won't the boss be pleased when I tell him I've found you and delivered his message?"

"What boss?" demanded Aster.

"The greatest and most dangerous of men you'll ever meet," said Eret, smugly. "He's the Dragon Conqueror and he's amassing a dragon army! And we're helping him build that army, or at least we _were_ until one of your lot attacked us last night!"

Lenora and Aster exchanged horrified and puzzled looks before turning back to Eret.

 _Someone's amassing dragon army? Oh, Thor._

"What're you talking about? No one from Berk came anywhere near here last night!" said Aster.

Eret scoffed. "Liar! I know the truth, Aster! I know all about your fiancée's abilities! I've heard the stories! Do you really expect me to believe that the rider of the Night Fury that destroyed the Red Death didn't order an attack on me and my men? All our dragons were stolen and our fort was blown to bits!"

Eret's men angrily murmured in agreement.

"Dragon trapping is hard enough work as it is without do-gooder dragon riders on giant ice-spitting dragons sneaking in to rescue them!" said Eret.

"A dragon rider?" echoed Lenora, in disbelief. _So, it was a dragon that caused the ice formation. And if they have a rider, then whoever did this isn't an enemy of Berk._ A dragon rider who helped the dragons and rode an ice-breathing dragon would an invaluable ally of Berk. Perhaps there was a chance to make a new friendship and alliance and together they could stop Eret's dragon conquering boss from amassing his dragon army. "Did you get a good look at who it was?"

No-Name, one of Eret's brainless lackeys, shook his head. "No. They were wearing a mask. But whoever it was, was terrifying!"

"Well, I hate to break it to you, but it wasn't one of us," said Aster. "None of our dragons can breathe ice like this."

Eret scowled. "Forgive me if I don't believe you. Now, it may be all good for you to live an easy life, Aster, but some of us aren't so lucky. I still have a quota to fill or else my boss is going to be unhappy with me. He's expecting a new shipment of dragons by tomorrow and he doesn't accept excuses. So, I can't exactly tell him about your new pal, can I? After all, just look at what he did to me the last time I showed up empty-handed." Eret pulled back his shirt, revealing a scar made by a branding iron. "Drago promised to be far less understanding in the future."

"Drago?" repeated Aster, confused. "Drago who?"

"Drago Bludvist," said Eret, smugly.

Lenora's heart skipped a beat at the mention of Drago's name and she became as white as snow.

 _Drago. It can't be. Not him. It's impossible. No…._

"You're lying," said Lenora, when she'd found her voice.

Toothless' ears folded back in concern. He'd never seen his friend act like that.

Aster frowned in surprise. "Lenora…"

"You're lying!" said Lenora, angrily, ignoring her fiancé. She thrust her flaming sword under Eret's chin, causing the older man to whimper in fear. "Who're you really working for?"

It wasn't possible for Eret to be working for Drago. She knew it wasn't.

"Drago said you'd say that, Lenora, which is why he told me to give you this." Eret pulled out a pendant from his pocket, or rather half a pendant and tossed it to Lenora, causing her to draw back her sword and examine it.

The pendant was a pure white stone engraved with an angel's wing.

"He also said to tell you that if 'Angel Light,' whatever _that_ is, doesn't become truly his once and for all, then he'll destroy Berk and everyone on it."

Lenora became paler than ever and her heart skipped a beat. Though she wanted to continue denying what Eret was saying, she couldn't. The evidence was undeniable.

 _He's alive. I don't believe it. Drago's alive!_ And apparently, he was back with a vengeance. She remembered all too well what her last encounter with Drago had almost cost her. And if he really was amassing a dragon army, Thor alone knew what his wrath would do to Berk and Lenora's loved ones. She couldn't let that happen, not again.

Aster didn't take kindly to Eret causing Lenora's panic. He grabbed Eret's arm and twisted it back, causing Eret to fall to his knees in agony as Aster held the tip of his sword under Eret's chin. "Look, I don't know what kind of sick game you're playing, but it ends _now_. We don't know anything about a dragon thief, an ice-breathing dragon or your lunatic boss! Let _my_ dragon go and _maybe_ I won't tell Stoick how you've been threatening his daughter and _maybe_ I'll let you go without you being stung by Brightscales's spikes!"

With a painful yowl, Eret freed himself of Aster's grip and drew his dagger. "Forget it! I'm not letting your woman's Night Fury escape. Drago will be so pleased when I hand him the beast. After all, it's not just _anyone_ who can capture the last of the Night Furies."

Toothless roared in anger. " _If you so much as try, I will end you, you eel-eating piece of filth!_ "

"His name is Toothless!" snarled Lenora. "And he says we're leaving. Now, bud!"

Toothless fired a blast at the top of the ice, causing Eret and the dragon trappers to scatter as a large chunk of ice fell down and shattered. While the dragon trappers were distracted by the shattered ice flying everywhere, Lenora and Aster freed Brightscales and then took off on their respective dragons as fast as they could.

"You will _never_ hold onto those dragons, you hear me?" yelled Eret. "Drago is coming for them all, I promise you!"

In response, Brightscales shot one of her tail spikes at Eret. It hit him in the foot, causing him to yelp painfully before passing out from the venom. Unfortunately, Eret would live, but he wouldn't feel a hundred percent anytime soon.

As soon as they were far enough away from the dragon trappers, Aster turned on Lenora.

"Lenora, what was all that about?" demanded Aster. In all the time Aster had known Lenora, he'd never once seen her act like that. It worried him. "Who's Drago and why's he got you so freaked out?"

"Drago is a madman I pray you'll never meet," said Lenora, gravely. She'd dreamt of this day coming in her worst nightmares, so she'd prayed fervently that it never would, but it seemed her prayers had gone unanswered. "Look, Aster, there's no time to fully explain, so just trust me on this, okay? All that matters is that Drago is a monster who nearly killed my dad eight years ago. If we don't stop him, then it's not just Berk that'll suffer. The entire world will too."

 _Please, don't ask me anything more. I can't tell you, I just can't!_ she silently prayed.

Thankfully the seriousness in Lenora's voice convinced Aster not to press further and they flew back to Berk in silence.

 **XXX**

Back at Berk, Stoick was headed to Gobber's blacksmith stall with a smile on his face.

He had every reason to be happy. It was a beautiful, peaceful day, Berk hadn't fought with anyone in ages, everyone on Berk was happy and healthy; his daughter was getting married in a few months and when she returned, hopefully she'd have told Aster about his retirement plans which meant Stoick would be able to announce it before too much longer.

Stoick smiled to himself as he thought of Berk's reaction to the news. Everyone was going to be so thrilled. Since the Battle of Red Death, Lenora had really made Berk a prosperous place and everyone loved her for it. She'd come so far in her young life and Stoick was exceedingly proud of her for it. She was going to be one of the greatest leaders Berk had ever known, he just knew it.

"Gobber, has there been any sign of Lenora?" asked Stoick.

Gobber, who was busy sharpening a new prosthetic tooth for a blue Hideous Zippleback, shook his head. "Ack! Lenora's probably flown off the edge of the world by now. She's been gone since the crack of dawn! Are you sure you didn't scare her off by surprising her like that?"

"Positive," said Stoick, flatly. "Besides, it's better she finds out now rather than the day of her wedding. Val would've come back from the grave and feed me to a dragon if I'd done it that way. And another thing, Lenora's reaction is natural. Anyone would need a little time and space to breathe."

"Aye," agreed Gobber. He finished placing in the Zippleback's new tooth and gave the dragon a quick pat on the head before it took off. "But are you sure you're ready for retirement? You can always delay it if you want to."

Stoick nodded. He'd been thinking about it long and hard for quite some time and he was more than ready to pass on his duties to Lenora. She was a highly accomplished, highly responsible young woman. If Lenora could befriend and train a Night Fury, end the Great War and change Berk for the better, then she was more than ready to become Chieftess of Berk.

"Do you think Lenora's not ready?"

Gobber shook his head. "No. I think she's more than ready. It's just hard to get my head around, you know? In my mind, I still see her as the little lass that would ride on my shoulder while I told her stories of dragons and trolls. I'm very proud of her, but part of me doesn't want her to be all grown up, you know?"

As Lenora's godfather, Gobber had a deep attachment to Stoick's daughter. Gobber had always looked after Lenora and treated her as his own. He couldn't have loved her anymore than if she had been. Gobber had fond memories of teaching Lenora how to be a good blacksmith and others chasing after her while they played silly games.

Stoick nodded sympathetically and gave his old friend's shoulder a squeeze. "Aye, I know. If I could keep her a little one, I would." Children growing up was an emotional hardship all parents faced. Children grew up so quickly. One minute, they're little and needy and the next they were big and independent. "But Lenora's always going to need us, so we'll be there when she is."

"Aye, that we will," said Gobber. "Now, if she would just get here, maybe you could finally tell everyone the news."

Right on cue, Lenora arrived home with Aster as everyone on Berk cheered and Stoick let out a hearty laugh.

"There she is! My Nora, the pride of Berk!" said Stoick, proudly.

"Who finally decided to show up for work," said Gobber, teasingly.

Normally, Lenora would've laughed or apologized with a light-hearted smile, but this time she did neither one. She just looked grave as she leapt off of Toothless' back and ran straight for Stoick.

"Dad, we need to talk—"

"Aye, that we do," interrupted Stoick, gleefully. He was so caught up in his joy that he was being oblivious as to how upset his daughter was. "I take it you told Aster, then? How'd he take the news?"

"Great, Dad. But that's not—"

"Excellent!" said Stoick, loudly. Now that Aster knew, Stoick could announce to Berk the good news. "Come help me with this saddle order, would you?" Without waiting for a reply, Stoick grabbed Lenora and gently dragged her to the table where a large stack of saddle cloth was sitting, ready for cutting and sewing. "Excuse us, Bonehead."

Bonehead was a Gobber's Boneknapper dragon. The two of them used to be enemies as Gobber had taken the bone that Bonehead needed to complete its coat of armor. Bonehead had chased Gobber all over the world for years until Gobber finally returned it. And since then, oddly enough, the two of them had been close friends. At that moment, the Boneknapper was asleep by Gobber's forge, but he woke up at the sound of his name.

"Ack! Bonehead, you idiotic sack of bones!" scolded Gobber. "You let the forge die down again!"

Bonehead rolled his eyes as he blew fire into the forge, but accidentally overdid it, causing an explosion of fire that forced Gobber to use the fire extinguishing system.

"That's it, Bonehead! You're going up for adoption!" said Gobber, irritated.

As Gobber made that threat every other month and didn't follow through on it, no one believed him, not even Bonehead himself.

"Now, Nora, this saddle is a high-seater with spikes and a big storage compartment," said Stoick, as he got out a pair of scissors. "Also, about the announcement. I was thinking we'd tell everyone at dinner and—"

Stoick was cut off when Lenora slammed a giant hammer into a large anvil, creating a terrible loud noise that made everyone clutch their ears and fall silent.

"Dad, _listen to me!_ " said Lenora. She sounded both agitated and desperate, a combination that Stoick did not like at all. "We've got an emergency situation. Berk is in danger and if we don't stop it, then the entire world is too!"

Stoick's face lost its excited expression and he became serious. "What happened?" He knew his daughter well enough to know she wouldn't be this upset unless the situation was dire.

Lenora took a deep breath. "Aster and I were out exploring a new land—"

" _Another_ one?" said Gobber, surprised. "I would've thought you'd found all the lands in the entire world by now."

Fishelgs, who'd been outside the blacksmith's stall with Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, burst in looking excited. "Any new dragons?"

"There was a new one, but we didn't actually see it," said Aster, testily. "We just saw its giant footprints and the giant spike ice it created out of its own breath."

"Wow," said Fishlegs, in awe.

"Yeah, it's not like anything we've ever seen before," said Aster, briskly. "But that's not important right now. What is important is the people we encountered. We ran into Eret."

Stoick looked surprised. "Eret son of Eret? The would-be dragon trapper? _That_ Eret?" Stoick didn't recall Eret being much of a danger, except perhaps to himself.

"He's not a would-be anymore," said Lenora. "He's a professional and he's got his own group of followers. They're getting stopped by an unknown dragon rider who's allied with the ice-breather, but that's the least of it. Dad, they're not trapping dragons for their own amusement or even for people like Alvin. They're collecting them for a dragon conqueror who's amassing a dragon army."

Everyone fell silent and looked horrified at this. They'd lived in peace with dragons for over five years. The idea of them having to go to war with the beasts once again wasn't a particularly enjoyable thought.

Stoick looked grave. "And does this dragon conqueror have a name?"

By this point, Lenora was shaking and not from the cold. "Dad…it's Drago. They're working for Drago Bludvist. Drago's back."

At once, Stoick became pale and he gripped Lenora's shoulders. "Drago Bludvist? Are you _absolutely certain_ , Nora?" He'd encountered Drago once before several years ago and nearly died from it. He'd seen what the man was capable of. For over eight years, he'd lived in fear that the monster would return and finish the job. If Drago had actually returned, then they were all doomed.

"Positive," said Aster, before Lenora could speak. "Eret gave Lenora something of Drago's and gave her a message."

Stoick's eyes narrowed as he released Lenora. "What? What was it?"

Lenora reached into her pocket and held out the pendant, which caused Stoick's eyes widen.

"Last time I saw Dragon, he was wearing a half pendant. It was a different color, but this is definitely the other half," he said, in a hushed tone. "What was Drago's message?"

Aster was silent as he cast a look at Lenora, who sighed. "Drago wants me. Unless he gets me, he's going to destroy all of Berk."

Naturally, no one took this piece of information well, especially not Stoick and Gobber.

"He wants _WHAT?!_ "

 **XXX**

As Lenora had expected, Stoick began fortifying Berk's defenses and preparing Berk for war.

After ordering Gobber to get their weapons and the warriors ready, Stoick ran down into the tunnels beneath the village and began barking out orders. Lenora, Aster and their friends and dragons followed close behind him.

"Ground all dragons!" yelled Stoick. "Seal the gates! Lower the storm doors!"

"Whoa, whoa, Uncle Stoick, wait!" cried Snotlout. "What is happening?"

Stoick didn't reply. "No dragon or Viking is to set a foot off this island unless I give the word! Especially not Lenora! Take her to her room and make sure she's protected no matter what!"

Lenora didn't take kindly to this and beat back anyone who tried to fulfill Stoick's orders and those who didn't listen to her, listened to Toothless when he snarled at them.

"Wait, because some guy you knew is stirring up trouble in some faraway land?" said Tuffnut.

Stoick ceased walking, spun around and faced them. "Because Drago Bludvist is a madman who kills without reason, conscience or mercy! I'll sooner die than see him lay a hand on my daughter!" Stoick had come close to losing Lenora once, he had no wish to do so again. She was his only child and all he had left of Val. "And if Drago's built a dragon army, then the gods help us all if we can't stop him!"

"But Stoick, wait! Who is this guy?" demanded Aster, impatiently. He was getting sick and tired of everyone's secrets. "What happened between you two? Don't you think if we're going to be prepared, we should at least know more about Drago?"

Stoick was about to object and tell Aster to just do as commanded, but stern looks from both Gobber and Lenora convinced him otherwise. Realizing he had no other choice, Stoick sighed and with some reluctance, told the story of Drago Bludvist.

"Eight years ago, there was a great gathering of the tribe leaders and their heirs to discuss the dragon scourge we all faced. The meetings lasted for two weeks, but it was on the last day that it happened. Lenora had been up half the night, sick from some bad meat from last night's dinner, so I decided to leave her alone on the ship, asleep. During the meeting on that last day, we were all talking when suddenly into our midst came a stranger from a strange land. He was young, sixteen maybe, but he was as big as I am and that wasn't the least of it. He was covered in scars and draped in a cloak of dragon skin.

"He carried no weapon and spoke softly, saying that he, Drago Bludvist, was a man of the people devoted to freeing mankind from the tyranny of dragons. Drago claimed that he and he alone could control the dragons and that he alone could keep us safe, _if_ we chose to bow down and follow him. We didn't believe him, so we laughed until he wrapped himself in his cloak and cried out, ' _Then see how well you do without me!_ ' The rooftop suddenly burst into flames and from it, armored dragons descended, burning the hall to the ground. Much of the attack was focused on me, something I never could explain, but somehow I…I was the only one to escape. And until now, I believed Drago was gone forever."

Those who were listening to Stoick's tale looked sickened and scared. They'd encountered many dangers over the last five years, but none as bad as Drago. Stoick himself looked shaken down to his core, for he was breathing hard and his eyes were glistening with tears. Sometimes old wounds like that never fully healed.

"Did Lenora ever meet him?" asked Fishlegs.

"No. She didn't," said Stoick, shaking his head. At least, as far as Stoick knew, she hadn't.

"Then what does this lunatic want with my cousin?" asked Snotlout, in confusion. "And why did he call her 'Angel Light' if they've never met?"

"I don't know, but I don't intend to find out," said Stoick. He turned to Lenora. "Nora, you're to stay with Toothless and the other riders. I don't want you alone for any reason."

Lenora's eyes flashed with indignant anger. "I'm not a child anymore. I can take care of myself and I refuse to let Berk risk their lives for me while I sit here hiding like a coward!" she spat. "You wouldn't do it, so why should I? What kind of Chieftess does that?"

Knowing she had a point, Stoick conceded and ceased insisting that Lenora be locked up for her own her protection. But pleased as she was by her victory, Lenora wasn't finished yet. She'd been prepared to fight Drago until Eret had given her the message and now she had another idea as to how to take him down.

"Dad, look, there's another option. If Drago wants me, then why don't I go find him? I could stop this war before it even begins," said Lenora.

"How, by sacrificing yourself to him?" joked Ruffnut.

It was meant as a joke, but Lenora's face was serious. "If need be."

"What?" said Aster, shocked she was considering it. "Sacrifice yourself to Drago? Lenora, you can't be serious!"

But Lenora was quite serious. "Listen, Eret knows Drago's location. While you're getting Berk's defenses ready, I'll find Eret and follow him back to Drago and once there, I can deal with Drago once and for all. It's worth a shot." If she could prevent the war from happening, wasn't it worth the risk she'd be taking?

No one agreed with her and immediately voice their disapproval while Stoick nodded in agreement.

Lenora gave Stoick a pleading look. "Dad, please! It's my duty to keep the peace!"

Stoick shook his head. "Peace is _over_ , Nora. I must prepare you for war. You're staying put to help fortify Berk's defenses and that's final! A Chieftess protects her own."

 _And that's exactly what I intend to do._ As Stoick walked off, Lenora glanced at Aster, who seemed to guess what she was thinking he shook his head.

"Lenora, _no_. Don't. I'm begging you," said Aster.

"I'm sorry, Aster, but I can't wait around for Drago to show up. I won't let Berk pay the price for my mistake," said Lenora. _I have to protect my loved ones no matter what._ Lenora looked at him with regret but no hesitation as she tenderly kissed him. "I love you. Good-bye."

Without waiting for a reply, Lenora leapt onto Toothless' back. The Night Fury let out a screech before it took off. Lenora and Toothless slipped under the gate and then after they were blocked by the closing stable doors, Toothless managed to fly them out of the closing door of the landing pad just in the nick of time.

Lenora knew Stoick would be furious but she didn't care. One way or another, she was going to save Berk from Drago.

 **XXX**

Finding Eret didn't take long as Toothless only needed to smell something or someone once to get the scent ingrained in his memory.

The flight to Eret's ship was silent. Lenora was tense and had no wish to speak as she had a great deal on her mind and was trying to stay focused on her plan. If giving herself up to Drago didn't work, then Lenora intended to do what was necessary to stop him. It made Lenora sick to her stomach to think of it, but what other choice did she have? Doing this was the only way to keep Berk and her loved ones safe. She knew if she lost someone like Stoick, Aster, Gobber or Toothless, it would destroy her completely.

 _If I do this right, no need pay the price for my mistake. Everyone will be safe and no one need ever know my secret that I've kept for so long._ Lenora was surprised no one had figured it out yet. Her reaction to Eret's revelation about his boss's identity, the fact that she recognized the pendant and knew what Drago meant by Angel Light should've given it away even though she'd never said a word, but at the same time she was grateful. She didn't want to think of everyone's reactions if they knew the truth about her and Drago.

Sensing his friend's distress, Toothless cocked his head a little and pretended to have an itch as he knew that doing little things like that helped Lenora relax. He was dying to ask Lenora more about Drago as she'd never once mentioned anyone by that name in all the time they'd known each other, but Toothless kept his questions to himself. Toothless was respectful enough to respect Lenora's privacy and trusted her to tell him of Drago when she was ready. And whatever course of action she planned to take against Drago, Toothless would stand beside her no matter what. He was her protector and most faithful friend. He'd never let anything happen to her.

Eventually, they found Eret's ship traveling up north and when they came into view, Eret and his men immediately fired nets at them. Toothless dodged them with ease and then landed onto the deck of Eret's ship.

Eret looked smug as he drew his blade. "And here I was thinking we might turn up empty-handed, but I guess it's my lucky day."

"That it is," said Lenora, as she slid off Toothless' back and held out her hands. "We surrender, Eret. So, you can take Toothless, the finest Night Fury in all the world and his rider, the one that Drago's after, to the man of the hour. I imagine that'll please him greatly, won't it?"

Eret was rendered speechless at this and didn't move as muscle as Lenora pushed past Eret and his men before climbing into the ship's brig. Toothless followed close behind and growled at those who dared point their spears at Lenora, making them back off in fear.

"Toothless, stay," said Lenora, holding up a warning hand as she climbed down.

Toothless made a worried noise but didn't disobey.

"What're you doing?" demanded Eret.

Lenora smirked to herself. _These idiots are playing right into the palm of my hand._ "Keeping you from doing something stupid. Dragons _hate_ cramped spaces. So, Toothless will just hang out with you. He won't be any trouble."

Toothless anxiously paced the entrance to the brig and then jumped a foot and snarled when the dragon trappers yelled and thrust out their spears and swords.

Lenora laughed as she poked her head out. "Unless you do _that_ , which I wouldn't, if I were you. You know, wooden boats, big oceans…how's your swimming?" But even that wouldn't do much good if sea dragons were near or worse, if they froze to death in the icy water.

"Not good," moaned No-Name, worriedly as Eret scowled.

Lenora thrust out her sword and ignited it. "Oh, I almost forgot. You can't have armed prisoners." She sheathed her blade and handed it to Eret before ducking back down. "I made it myself. If you really like it, I can easily make you all one. It's quite useful. One end coats the blade in Monstrous Nightmare saliva and the other sprays out Hideous Zippleback gas. All it takes is one little spark."

Eret handed Lenora's weapon to No-Name, who accidentally switched on the gas and then accidentally ignited the gas, causing an explosion. When Lenora came back up, she was finding it difficult not to laugh at the sight of the dragon trappers all covered in ash and soot and Toothless playfully swatting the cinders in the air.

"Give me that!" growled Eret, as he snatched Lenora's weapon from No-Name.

When Eret tried to toss Lenora's sword over the boat at least twice, Toothless fetched it both times and then placed it in Lenora's hands while wagging his tail like an eager puppy.

"What kind of game are you playing?" demanded Eret, scowling at Lenora.

"No game. I just want Drago's location. I'm prepared to pay you handsomely for it and I'm more than happy to show you an alternative lifestyle than one as Drago's lackey," said Lenora. She climbed out of the brig and stood by Toothless, who wrapped his tail around her. "Did it never occur to you that working for Drago's going to end badly for you? Once you've outlived your usefulness, he'll dispose of you in a heartbeat!"

Eret's scowl deepened. "You're wrong. Drago needs us."

Lenora shook her head. "For now. But that won't last long, believe me."

No-Name tugged on Eret's arm. "Eret, son of Eret, she said she's willing to pay us. Maybe we could consider it? We _are_ short on money. And if she goes straight to Drago, he might be merciful to us when we get there."

Eret placed a finger to his chin in thought. "That's true." He looked back at Lenora. "You said something about money for Drago's location. How much are we talking?"

Lenora tossed him a heavy pouch of money from her satchel. Eret poured it onto the deck and quickly counted up the gold and silver coins. As the number grew higher, Eret and his men looked more and more excited.

"Okay, you've got yourself a deal." After putting the money back into the pouch, Eret reached into his pocket and took out a folded piece of parchment. "Drago's location is marked on this map. What is it you intend to do when you meet him?"

"That's none of your concern," said Lenora, briskly as she pocketed the map. _I'm going to deal with him once and for all, not that it would matter to you._ As if she would tell Eret her plans.

"Fair enough," admitted Eret. "Now, not that I'm considering it, I'm just curious, what's this 'alternative lifestyle' you mentioned?"

"Well, at the risk of sounding boastful," said Lenora, slowly, "did it also never occur to you that instead of trapping dragons for an evil lunatic like Drago, you could do what I did—befriend and train them?"

Eret and his men stared for a moment and then they all burst out laughing.

"Befriend and train a dragon?" said Eret. He wiped away a tear as he slowly ceased laughing. "You're crackers, you are!"

Lenora shrugged as she rubbed Toothless' ears. "Maybe I am, but I do know this: once they see you as one of their own, there's nothing a dragon won't do for you. I'm more than willing to show you. May I?"

Eret paused for a moment in consideration and then stepped back and nodded. "Well, seeing as how I've been paid and we'll be parting in a moment, please, milady. I'll give you long as it takes to deflate that oversized head of yours."

" _Watch it with the insults, eel-eater!_ " snarled Toothless.

"Toothless, hush," scolded Lenora, shooting him a warning look. She glanced back at Eret, who'd drawn his sword. "So, what's so great about dragon trapping, anyway? Going all over creation and delivering dragons to a madman…sounds like a crappy life to me."

Eret climbed onto the ship's rail. "It's a _great_ life, except when it gets disrupted by dragon thieves like you and your lot!" He let out a battle cry as he leapt down, but Lenora acted quicker. She cut the ropes holding the barrels of food and fresh water, causing Eret to land on one of them and struggle to keep his balance for a few moments before falling flat on his butt.

"Right. My fellow dragon rider astride their ice-breathing dragon friend. How could I forget?" said Lenora, amused.

Eret frowned at Lenora's laughter. "Laugh all you want! The days of rescuing dragons are over! Drago's conquered the most powerful dragon of them all!"

"Pardon me while I tremble in fear," said Lenora, sarcastically. Inside, however, she was worried. _The most powerful dragon of them all? What kind of dragon is that? Another ice-breather?_ She didn't know, but she did know that if it was true and Drago actually _did_ have such a creature under his thrall, then the situation was worse than she'd previously thought. "Whoa!" She narrowed dodged swings from Eret's sword as she backed up to one of the sails.

"Soon, all of your dragons will be claimed for his army!" said Eret.

"Right, the dragon army. Let me guess. He pulled _that_ off with intimidation and fear. And he's working his same methods on you. No wonder you're working for him if you're lacking that much of a spine," said Lenora.

Eret let out a frustrated growl as he grasped the scuff of Lenora's shirt. "I am _not_ a coward! And you'd better watch that tongue of yours, little lady! No one and I mean _no one_ messes with Drago! Not even Red Death ever crossed him! Is this part of changing my mind?"

"That part's coming." Lenora drew her dagger and slice through the ropes, causing her to be flung up to the mast.

"Come now!" said Eret, mockingly as he climbed up to Lenora's position. "Drago's going to take over the world! You're either with him or against him. And the way I see it, against is a losing proposition! Anything else you'd like to try to change my mind, little missy?"

Lenora grinned. The idiot had fallen into her trap and didn't even know it. "Just this." Quickly, she cut the ropes and they were both flung into the air, as if from a catapult.

"AUGH! _YOU IDIOT!_ " screamed Eret.

Lenora just smirked before Toothless came to her rescue. Once she was on the Night Fury's back, Eret was snatched out of the air before he could fall to his death.

Once they were in the air, Toothless performed a serious of impressive aerodynamics while Eret screamed like a little girl.

"AHH! Make it stop! Make it stop! _Make it stop!_ " he screamed.

Toothless laughed at Eret.

"Oh, would you relax? You're not going to die, you big baby!" said Lenora, rolling her eyes. _What an overdramatic buffoon._ But all the same, she found it rather amusing. "Just calm down, Eret. We're almost there."

Lenora cheered in delight as Toothless took them back to Eret's ship. Eret was literally kicking and screaming the entire way until he landed on the safety of his ship's deck.

Toothless purred and wagged his tail in delight. He thought the flight had been successful, as did Lenora, who was smiling.

"So?" she prompted.

Eret looked at her incredulously. "So what? _You_ didn't do anything, it was all that beast's doing!"

"Exactly," said Lenora, making them all stare at her in stunned confusion. She looked them as though the answer were obvious. _Why're they so blind?_ "Toothless does what I ask because we're bonded through friendship and loyalty. He trusts me and loves me as much I do him. Once you've earned that, there's _nothing_ a dragon won't do for you. Don't you think allying with dragons is better than alienating them?"

Some of Eret's men murmured in agreement while others did not. Eret in particular, remained unyielding in his mindset. But all of them, including Eret, stared in disbelief when they saw Toothless, the dragon that had almost bitten their hands off, lying on his back with his tongue hanging out and purring in delight as Lenora rubbed his itchy belly.

Lenora and Toothless' moment was interrupted when Lenora was suddenly snatched out of the air by a dragon.

Ready for anything, Toothless leapt onto the sail, climbed it and landed on the mast but then relaxed when he saw who it was that had snatched his rider.

Stoick, Gobber and the other dragon riders had apparently tracked Lenora and Toothless down and were coming to their rescue. Lenora was being carried away by Firewyrm and she was _not_ happy about it in the slightest.

"Snotlout, what in Thor's name do you think you're doing?" yelled Lenora. "Put me down!"

Snotlout pretended to think about it. "Let me think…no! I'm letting you go so you can go off and do something stupid and insane! That's _my_ job!" He looked sweetly back at Tuffnut. "See how well I protect and provide for my little cousin?"

Ruffnut groaned in disgust before quickly dodging the nets that came flying at her and Tuffnut. "Hey! What's with all the nets? That was cl-o-o-s-e…." Ruffnut's gaze fell upon Eret and a dreamy look crossed her face at the sight of his dark hair, big muscles and brown eyes. "Oh, _my_. Me likey." She thrust out her arms. "Take me."

And just like that, Ruffnut and Smokes were caught in a net, leaving Tuffnut to drive Sparks by himself while he groaned in annoyance.

Lenora didn't have time for this. Knowing that Snotlout wouldn't be much help, she turned his dragon instead.

" _Firewyrm, if you don't let me go this instant, I swear you can forget about the extra-large bowl of extra-spicy salmon salsa I promised you!_ " warned Lenora. She spoke in dragonese so that Snotlout wouldn't understand what she was saying. " _I'll never make it again, do you hear me?_ "

Firewyrm's eyes widened in fear. One afternoon when Lenora had been experimenting with new recipe ideas with Gobber, there'd been an accident that resulted in there being too much spice and chunks of fish in the mixture. No human on Berk liked it, but Firewyrm loved it. The extra spicy salsa mixed with Firewyrm's favorite fish, was the dragon's most favorite food in the world and as Lenora kept her recipes secrets, she was the only one who knew how to make it. So, naturally, Firewyrm released Lenora from her talons and Lenora activated her flightsuit.

Once in the air, Lenora dodged a net that came at her, grabbed a rope and then slid down to the ship's deck as the others did the same.

"What're you all _doing_ here?" asked Lenora.

"We're here to rescue you!" said Gobber, as though it were obvious.

Lenora sighed in exasperation. "I don't _need_ rescuing! I have the situation under control!"

" _Enough!_ " barked Stoick, as he landed Skullcrusher on the boat. He walked towards Eret's men, who quickly huddled together in fear and remained as they were under Fishlegs and Snotlout's guards and then he shoved Eret away when the dragon trapper tried to intimidate Stoick. Eret ended up being pinned beneath Bonehead's head and then whacked on the head by Gobber's club. Satisfied that the threat was dealt with, Stoick turned to Lenora. "You, saddle up. We're going home."

Lenora stubbornly shook her head. "No. I'm not going home. I'm going after Drago. I know his location and I'm going to stop him."

Stoick growled in frustration as he narrowed his eyes. "Of all the irresponsible—"

"' _Irresponsible_ '?!" echoed Lenora, incredulously. She was trying to do what was right and save lives! "I'm trying to protect our dragons and stop a war! I'm trying to save Berk from paying the price for my mistake! How is that irresponsible?"

"Because war is what he wants, Lenora!" said Stoick.

"NO, IT'S NOT!" yelled Lenora, making everyone jump. Lenora rarely yelled or lost her temper, and for her to do so now meant business. She sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "If my plan works, there won't _be_ a war because either Drago won't be around to see it or he'll give up his plans for it because he'll get what he really wants."

"Giving yourself up won't change anything!" said Stoick. "You'll just get yourself killed!"

Lenora's hand clenched into a fist. "Do you really have so little faith in me?" Why couldn't Stoick trust that she could handle Drago? She'd handled Red Death, Alvin, Dagur and so much more. Why should Drago be any different?

"Don't put words in my mouth, Lenora!" growled Stoick. "I have every confidence in you, you know that, but there are some things even people like us can't face alone!"

"Stoick, enough," said Aster. He sighed as he placed a hand under his fiancée's chin and lifted her face up to meet his. There was no anger or judgment in Aster's blue eyes, only concern and love. "Lenora, _please_ , talk to me. Ever since Drago's name was mentioned, you haven't acted like yourself at all. Whatever it is you're hiding, it's not going to change anything if that's what you're afraid of."

Lenora closed her eyes and didn't reply as Stoick's eyes narrowed.

"Hiding? What do you mean by that?"

Aster took Lenora's hand in his before turning around and speaking to Stoick. "When Eret first mentioned Drago's name, Lenora insisted he was lying until he showed her the pendant. Now, Stoick, you said you only saw half of the one Drago was wearing and Drago never encountered Lenora, yet Lenora recognized the other half of the pendant and knew what Drago's message meant." As this bit of information sank in, Aster turned to Lenora. "Right before you left, you said Berk couldn't pay the price for your mistake. And Stoick said you never met Drago, but he's wrong, isn't he? You know Drago and something happened that's caused you to think you made a terrible mistake."

Everyone was quiet and then exchanged worried glances.

"Lass," said Gobber, uneasily. "Is there something we should know?"

"There can't be," said Stoick. He sounded as though he was trying to convince himself more than anyone else. "I know what happened eight years ago! I know—"

"You _don't_ know, Dad," interrupted Lenora, unable to stop herself. She pulled away from Aster and looked up at Stoick. Already, she could feel her heart breaking as she knew how this was going to end. "You don't know. You've _never_ known because I've never been able to tell you."

"Tell me what?" asked Stoick. He had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Lenora was really worrying him.

Tears pooled in Lenora's eyes as her throat tightened. "Aster's right. I lied all those years ago. I lied when I said I didn't encounter Drago. I was ashamed and I couldn't tell you the truth." Lenora had thought that her secret would die with Drago, it was what she'd promised herself, but it seemed fate was working against her and now she had to reveal the terrible secret she'd kept for so long. With a heavy heart, Lenora took a deep breath. "Eight years ago, I did something very wrong…"


	4. Lenora and Drago

**Lenora and Drago**

 _ **Eight years ago…**_

It was a dark and stormy day as fifteen-year-old Lenora Horrendous Haddock, walked along the beach of Odin Island.

There had been a call for the tribe leaders and their heirs to gather at the Main Hall for a two-week meeting to discuss the dragon scourge they all faced. Lenora hadn't particularly wanted to go, but as she was Stoick's only heir (for the time being unless he chose her cousin instead) and she wished to please her father, Lenora had, with some reluctance, accompanied Stoick.

She found the meetings boring as they all sounded the same after a while. They all wanted to make the dragons extinct by finding their nest, but no one knew how to find the nest and no one had any new ideas for fighting the dragons. Lenora had some ideas, but as Stoick wasn't in the best of moods and she didn't want to make it worse, she'd kept silent until she could escape.

Now, she was wandering around the beach, enjoying the warm summer's rain upon on her skin and going over invention ideas in her head. She was so busy daydreaming and looking up into the sky that she failed to watch where she was going and tripped over something big.

"Ow," she moaned. She'd landed face-first into the sand and spat some out of her mouth. "What in Thor's name—oh, Odin's ghost!"

Lenora's eyes widened when she saw what she'd tripped over. There, lying face down on the beach floor being soaked by the lapping waves of the sea, was a young man almost as big as her father and he wasn't moving.

Quite afraid, Lenora ran to the man's side and rolled him onto his stomach. When she felt his labored breath on her hand, she knew he was alive, but just barely. He was unlike any man she'd ever seen before. He had dark brown dreadlocks, his skin was tanned and heavily scarred, he wore a dragon-skin cloak, he had a badly damaged prosthetic arm and he was sporting an infected wound that resembled a dragon's claw marks on his chest and abdomen. To make matters worse, when Lenora felt his forehead, she drew back her fingers at the heat. He was burning up hotter than dragon's fire.

 _Oh, Thor._ What was she supposed to do? Telling her father was out of the question. Stoick was suspicious enough of strangers as it was. With the mood he was in, he'd probably convince the other tribe leaders to throw the stranger into a dungeon or something of like. Lenora couldn't entirely fault Stoick for this as they lived in difficult times and she had to admit, she knew nothing about this stranger, but at the same time, Lenora couldn't bring herself to leave him alone in the woods, injured and ill. Chances were whatever happened to the stranger could be easily explained and he was an innocent bystander and not an enemy from Outcast Island. But either way, if he was going to live, he needed Lenora's help before it was too late.

Thinking fast, Lenora slowly dragged the stranger to a nearby cave. It was no easy feat as the stranger was quite heavy and Lenora was tired once it was done. But there was no time to rest. Thankfully, she remembered what Gothi had taught her about medicine and was even more grateful she hadn't forgotten her supply of healing herbs in her satchel when she'd left Berk. Once Lenora got a fire going, she found a small pool of cold water in the cave and used it to wet her rag, which she placed on the stranger's burning forehead to lower his fever.

With her other rag, Lenora wetted it and used it to clean the stranger's wound. Once it was cleaned, she made a poultice of rainwater and healing herbs, applied it and then began closing up the injury. When she nearly finished, she cried out in surprise and pain. The stranger had suddenly awoken and in a moment of fevered panic, tightly grabbed Lenora's wrist and growled at her. But he tried to sit up, he let out a groan of pain and clutched his injury.

"Hey, easy there. Easy," said Lenora, soothingly. Her heart was pounding and she was shaking, but she forced herself to be calm. Clearly whatever the stranger had endured, it'd been traumatic. It was the only reason for his reaction, besides that of his high fever. "I'm not going to hurt you, I promise. You're injured and ill. I'm trying to help you. No one knows you're here. You're safe here, I promise. Believe me."

The stranger narrowed his dark brown eyes, which were dull with fever, but nevertheless he began to relax and he released his grip on Lenora's wrist. He believed her and what's more, Lenora's touch seemed to soothe him.

"Thank you," murmured Lenora. Her wrist ached from his tight grip, but she ignored it as she resumed her ministrations.

"Where am I?" demanded the stranger, hoarsely.

"In a cave on Odin Island. I brought you here after I found you washed up on shore." Lenora longed to know how exactly he'd ended up there and in such a state as he was as she'd seen no sign of a shipwreck, but she knew better than to ask. Some things were better left in the past, unspoken of and forgotten. "This may sting. How old are you?"

"Sixteen…ow," he grunted.

"Sorry," said Lenora, apologetically. _Why couldn't he have slept a little more and avoided feeling this? Sixteen. How can he possibly be sixteen and yet be as big as Dad?_ "I'm almost done, just stay still. I'm Lenora, by the way. What's your name?"

"Drago Bludvist…"

Lenora finished closing the wound, wetted her rag and dabbed at Drago's fevered, sweaty face. "Well, Drago, it's nice to meet you." She blushed a little when Drago's hand brush against her own and he looked at her as though she were something special. "You need to sleep. You're burning up. Just sleep, Drago. Sleep."

After a few moments, Drago's eyes fluttered shut.

 **XXX**

Three days later, as soon as she was able, Lenora slipped away to Drago's hiding place.

As her presence was only required during the meetings, and afterwards all those in attendance went off to do as they pleased either with each other or with some of the local villagers, Lenora wasn't missed by Stoick when the meetings ended—provided she returned by suppertime, that is.

Lenora knew that the meetings were for the good of all Vikings and she was doing her best to learn from them, but at the same time, she wished they'd quit repeating themselves and do something other than what had already been tried and failed before.

Lenora brought with her some lanterns, fresh food and bandages, a water skin, some stronger herbs and a bottle of chicken broth that was highly recommended for fevers. Lenora hoped that her fresh supplies would do some good, for she was greatly worried about Drago. Drago's wound was healing nicely, but his fever hadn't yet broken. Drago kept drifting in and out of consciousness and more than once, he'd frightened Lenora down to the core when he'd had a fevered delusion. But in spite of it all, she kept going back, telling herself that Drago's actions were only because of his illness and whatever trauma he'd suffered

When she arrived, she brushed aside the piece of driftwood that concealed the cave's entrance and went inside. There she found Drago where she'd left him. While at first glance, Drago still appeared to be in some pain, he no longer looked ill and best of all, he was awake.

"Hey, you're properly awake," said Lenora, relieved. "Forgive me, I'm not sure if you remember, but I'm Lenora. I found you washed up on shore. You were injured and sick, and I've been taking care of you. How're you feeling?"

Drago did not respond at first. He just gazed at Lenora as though she a memory from a dream. "You're real," he said, quietly. "And you came back."

Lenora nodded as she knelt down beside him. _Probably thought I was just a fevered delusion._ "Of course I'm real and of course, I came back. Why wouldn't I? Here, you should drink this. Slowly." She helped Drago sit up and then she handed him the waterskin, which he drank slowly yet thirstily.

Drago passed her back the water skin. "I don't remember much about the last few days except for that first time I saw you…you seemed like a dream, like the light of an angel, saving my life."

Having never been spoken to in such a manner, Lenora blushed. "That's very kind of you to say." She could feel butterflies in her stomach as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Let me see how you're doing." She felt his forehead and sighed in relief at the cool skin. "Your fever's gone, thank Thor. I need to see to your wound dressings, so if you could just hold still…"

Lenora's voice wandered off when her sleeve fell back and her wrist caught Drago's attention. Quickly, Drago grasped Lenora's wrist in his hand and his eyes darkened with anger and pain at the sight of the five blue and purple finger-shaped bruises on Lenora's pale skin.

"I did this to you, didn't I?" said Drago. It wasn't a question. "I hurt you."

"It's nothing," said Lenora, as she tugged her wrist away and lowered her sleeve. "You've been here for four days, three of which you've had a high fever. You were ill. Your actions weren't your own. It's all right, Drago." One would've thought Lenora was just showing mercy or even acting out of fear, but she truly didn't blame Drago for the bruises. It was an accident.

Drago wasn't convinced and he pulled away when she attempted to examine his wounds. "You've been taking care of me, a stranger you know nothing of, and I _hurt_ you. Why? Why're you so benevolent when I've done nothing to deserve it?"

 _The real question is, why can't you accept it?_ Thankfully, Lenora had the sense to hold her tongue on that thought. "My mother taught me that compassion has nothing to do with worth. Compassion is a choice, a sense of selflessness and care. When I found you alone in the woods, I didn't see a stranger or an enemy, I just saw someone who needed help. And I don't blame you for my wrist. I've seen people with lesser fevers do worse. It's all right. Now, I do hope that's a satisfactory answer, because unless you know anything about medicine, I really do need to examine your injury and change your bandages. So, let me!"

Despite the fact that Drago was a great deal larger than Lenora and could easily take her in a fight, she was prepared to do what had to be done for Drago to fully recover. Like many Vikings, Lenora had stubbornness issues and could often be just as stubborn, if not more, than her own father and wouldn't give up without a fight.

Drago's eyes narrowed at Lenora's commands, but he didn't yell or argue. He scooted closer and allowed her to resume her ministrations.

"Where do you hail from, Angel Light?" asked Drago, quietly.

Despite knowing Drago couldn't see her, as she was sitting behind him while tying off his fresh bandages, Lenora raised an eyebrow at his choice of nickname.

"I come from Berk. I'm the daughter of Stoick the Vast, the Chief," said Lenora. "I'm sure you've heard of him." How could anyone not have? Stoick's reputation was widespread. He was a powerful figure of authority with the ferocity of a dragon and the heart of a lion. They said you had to be either a complete fool or insane beyond measure to cross Stoick wrong, and Lenora agreed with them.

"Who hasn't? He's hard to miss," said Drago, with a hint of humor in his voice.

Lenora chuckled and then began dishing out the food she'd brought. They continued chatting as they enjoyed their meal together.

 **XXX**

Four days later, with some difficulty, Lenora pushed a cloth-covered wheelbarrow to Drago's cave.

Although Drago was fully recovered, he show no indication of leaving the island anytime soon, for which Lenora was glad, as she liked having the older man around. True, Drago was showing signs of anger issues and he frightened Lenora when he yelled as he unleashed his rage onto whatever tree or rock he found in the woods, but he had good qualities too. Drago was willing to talk with Lenora and listen to her without judgement, he seemed to _like_ how different Lenora was in comparison with other Vikings, he didn't hurt Lenora physically or emotionally and he could be so gentle when he wanted to be.

Lenora didn't know how to quite define their relationship. She still hadn't told anyone about Drago's presence on the island, which was probably a sign. They seemed to be good friends, but were they truly? Lenora wanted to believe that they were as her life as Berk's klutzy reject was often a lonely one and Drago seemed to ease away that loneliness. But at the same time, she was beginning to have a feeling that something was wrong with Drago, at the very least he seemed to be keeping a secret from Lenora. Not to mention, Lenora didn't have the slightest clue what was going to happen once the meeting was over. In six days, she would be returning to Berk with Stoick and probably never see Drago again, not unless he went with her or something. How was it going to work out?

 _I can't dwell on that now. I should stay focused on the present_. It was the only thing to do. _Live for the moment, because a moment's all I have._

Lenora sighed and tried to focus on other things. Today was one of those days when she wanted to be with Drago and forget everything else, as there had been an incident earlier that day involving Dagur of the Berserker Tribe and both Lenora and Dagur's respective fathers.

"You're late," said Drago, when she came in. There was concern in his dark brown eyes. "Is everything all right?"

"Everything's fine. I was just delayed. I've got a surprise for you." Lenora took the cloth off the wheelbarrow, revealing Drago's newly remade prosthetic arm. It was no longer dented beyond measure, blackened with dragon's fire, or missing pieces. The prosthetic was polished with a special wax to prevent rust, it was the same length and width of Drago's other arm, she'd made it easier to attach to Drago's person and she had even added spikes here and there to add to Drago's warrior image. "Ta-da! Do you like it?"

Drago looked astonished. "You did this? How?" He'd seen her heal his wounds and sickness and mend his shirt, but he hadn't known she was a talented blacksmith.

"Well, I may be the Chief's daughter but our blacksmith is my godfather and a close friend of my dad's. I've been his apprentice since I was six." When it came to blacksmithing, Lenora had learnt from the best and she was good at what she did. "I'm sorry it took so long, but it was pretty badly damaged after your accident. Would you like to try it on?"

Drago nodded and then attached it to his person. He ran his hand over it and his smile grew wider as he became used to it. When he looked at his reflection in a pool of water, he looked _very_ satisfied indeed, for the spiky prosthetic arm combined with Drago's giant scarred body and his dragonskin cloak gave him the appearance of a dangerous warrior that wasn't to be trifled with.

"It's perfect. Is there nothing you can't do?"

 _Slay a dragon or win my dad's approval and make him proud of me_ , Lenora wanted to say, but she knew Drago wouldn't like hearing that. Drago already strongly disapproved of Stoick as it was. Drago felt that Stoick didn't deserve such a talented young Viking girl like Lenora for a daughter and he made no secret of it.

"I'm glad you like it." The prosthetic arm had been her hardest project yet and between her appearance at the meetings and dinnertime and her visits to Drago, Lenora's time to work on the prosthetic was limited and it had been quite a feat getting it done without raising unwanted questions from the town's blacksmith and keeping it hidden from Stoick. "So, what do you want to—hey!"

The 'hey' was due to Drago noticing the bandage on Lenora's upper arm and gently grasping it as he frowned deeply.

"Who did this?" he demanded sharply.

"Nobody. I did it myself," she lied.

Drago's eyes narrowed. "Angel Light…" he said, warningly. "Tell me what happened."

Lenora found herself squirming and feeling uncomfortable under Drago's gaze, much like she did when Stoick could tell she'd done something wrong but wouldn't tell Stoick about it. So, naturally, Lenora confessed the truth.

"It was Dagur, all right?" she confessed. "After the meeting, Dagur said he wanted to talk with me in private. Normally, I would've said no, but he's been hounding me like crazy since we got here and I thought if I gave in, he might finally leave me be. We walked down to the shooting range and then out of the blue, Dagur announced that he intended to have me as his future bride."

Drago's frown deepened. "Did he now?" His tone was frighteningly calm, which sent chills down Lenora's spine. "What happened then?"

"I refused, told him that even though our tribes were allies, my dad would never sanction a marriage between us because my dad hates Dagur." While Oswald the Agreeable was a much-respected and adored man, his son Dagur was the opposite. Dagur was insane and he had a tendency to be an arrogant jerk. "I also mentioned that even if my dad _did_ agree, I wouldn't because I don't love Dagur. I love another." Lenora's heart fluttered as she thought of Aster back home, the boy she'd secretly been in love with all her life. "And I'd sooner be eaten by a dragon than marry a lunatic like Dagur."

Normally, Lenora would've tried to be more courteous, but past experience had taught her that politeness got nowhere with someone as deranged as Dagur of the Beserker Tribe, only harsh words and firmness combined with a smack upside the head got anywhere with that lunatic.

"Then what happened?"

"For a moment, I thought Dagur was going to go berserk, but instead he got all quiet. He said it was fine and invited me for target practice. Once again I said no and I was walking away to get your prosthetic when suddenly, Dagur tossed his knife at me. It grazed me. He said he didn't intend to hurt me, but if I wasn't going to be his bride then I was going to be his knife-throwing target whether I liked it or not," said Lenora, unconsciously rubbing her arm where she'd been cut. Thankfully, it hadn't been a bad cut, but it still hurt and there had been a moment when she thought Dagur might seriously harm her or worse.

Drago's eyes darkened with fury. "I'll kill him."

"Get in line. Oswald and my dad already punished him. They happened to be walking by just as Dagur threw the knife and they were _furious_." Lenora had never seen Oswald the Agreeable, who was normally such a pacifist, so angry, heck she didn't even know he could even _be_ angry. But his rage had been nothing compared to Stoick's. Stoick had been like a ticked-off Monstrous Nightmare and that was _before_ Lenora had managed to explain the full incident to him. "Oswald has Dagur confined to his room under armed guards and they're leaving first thing tomorrow morning. And before that, my dad tossed him across the island like a skipping stone and then almost smashed Dagur with his hammer."

While Lenora didn't have the close relationship she longed for with Stoick—partly due to their differences and partly due to Stoick's inability to talk and listen—Stoick was still her hero and his actions in protecting her from Dagur had furthered strengthened those feelings. Regardless of their lack of closeness, Stoick always made Lenora feel safe and she knew she could rely on him in times of danger. It was one of the many reasons why she loved her father.

Drago, however, didn't share in Lenora's sentiments. "Why didn't Stoick finish it?"

Lenora gave Drago an incredulous look. "Finish it? Drago, you can't seriously tell me you're actually condoning such a thing!" Executing a traitor was one thing, but killing someone out of pure hatred or a desire for vengeance was wrong. People had to be better than that.

"Dagur _hurt_ you. He could've _killed_ you!"

"And Dagur's been punished for it. Look," she placed her hand on his, which seemed to calm him down a little. "I hate Dagur, always have and always will, but there're lines we can't cross, not if we want to be better than our enemies. We have to show that we're more than that, understand? Now please, promise me you won't give into your hate and kill Dagur. Promise me."

Drago growled softly and sighed as he reluctantly nodded. "I promise."

Satisfied with his answer, Lenora sighed in relief. "Thank you. I know it's hard, but I'm glad you agree, even though I think we'd both love to see Dagur eaten by a dragon." It was meant as a joke to lighten the mood, but Lenore instantly wished she hadn't said it, as a strange look crossed Drago's face and his eyes became cold as ice.

"They'd destroy him and then choke on that maggot's bones. It would serve them right too, filthy devils," he said, bitterly. "They should all burn, just like they burned my people."

Lenora's eyes widened. _His people? Oh, Thor_. "Is…is that what happened to you?" When Drago turned away, she quickly added, "Wait, I'm sorry. It's just…well, in all the time we've been talking, you've hardly spoken of your past. I don't even know how you got here in the first place. But please, don't turn away from me. You don't need to tell me if it's too painful."

Having grown up on an island often raided by dragons and suffered casualties like the loss of some of her people and her mother dying of sickness when Lenora was six, Lenora knew better than some did how hard it could be to talk of painful memories of the past. Lenora wished she'd kept silent, because it looked like she'd just reopened some painful wounds.

But after a moment, Drago faced her again. "I want to tell you." He closed his eyes as memories of darker times came over him. "When I was a boy, I lived a life of privilege and happiness as the only son of the Chief. I had power, wealth, friends and I had family. But all that was taken from me when my homeland was attacked by dragons. They came without warning or provocation and though we fought bravely, I lost everything.

"My arm, my people, my family…they all burnt and I was left with nothing but scars, memories of fire and ashes and the fear of dragons. Since then, I've vowed to rise above the fear of dragons and liberate the people of this world. That's why you found me on the beach, I was fighting a dragon and he bested me, left me for dead. You're the only reason I'm alive, Angel Light."

Lenora's heart ached for Drago. _How could you have survived all that? You poor soul._ Berk had known losses in the war against the dragons, but never on such a scale as Drago's. She couldn't imagine how she would feel, much less survive if she'd been in Drago's place. Hesitantly, in an attempt to comfort Drago, she placed her hand in Drago's and as he squeezed it tight, she reached up and gently wiped away his lone tear before resting her hand on his cheek.

"It's all right," she whispered. "I know what it's like to be afraid, to feel like you're alone, but you don't to feel that way anymore. You're safe here and I'm with you now. You survived so much and you'll continue to do so because you're a survivor. You and I…we…we're friends and friends care for and protect each other. That's the way it'll always be with us."

Drago's only response was to lift Lenora up with his arm and then hold her close against him in a tight embrace.

 **XXX**

Five days later, Lenora was feeling sad as she walked to Drago's cave for the last time.

Tomorrow was the fourteenth day and right after the meeting, everyone was going straight back to their respective homes. They'd finally reached an agreement and the following day's meeting was just to tie up loose ends and maybe resign some annual peace treaties and even have a few drinks afterwards.

 _I'm probably never going to see Drago again_. Maybe it was better that way. Lenora had no regrets over the time she'd spent with Drago, but deep down, she'd always known their friendship—if you could call it that—wasn't going to last. After all, when Lenora had broached the subject of Drago's current place of residence, she'd learnt that he was a nomad and not normally prone to living in one place for so long. It was probably just as well as Lenora failed to see how he could be happy living on Berk. Lenora's return to Berk was never in question as regardless of difficult life could be there, Berk was her home and where her family was. She couldn't leave it and them behind like that.

 _Oh, Thor, how am I going to tell Drago? He knew the meetings could come to end, but I never said when! What if he hates me for it? Oh, Odin, give me strength._

"Drago?" she called, when she came upon the cave entrance.

Drago emerged from the cave at the sound of Lenora's voice. Half of a pendant was on his neck, it was a pitch black stone engraved with a dragon's wing. His hand was tightly clenched, as though he was concealing something in it.

"Angel Light. You're early, good. I—" he frowned at the sad look on her face. "What's wrong?"

"There's something I need to tell you. I should've said something sooner, but I…" Lenora sighed and took a deep breath. "We're leaving tomorrow. As soon as the meeting's over, my dad and I are going back to Berk. I'm sorry."

Lenora braced herself for the worst, but a surprise came her way when Drago didn't seem the least bit concerned, angry or upset. He was calm and unconcerned. Heck, he seemed _happy_ even, which puzzled Lenora.

"Is that all? That's nothing to be sad about," said Drago.

Lenora couldn't believe what she was hearing and felt hurt that he was showing such disregard. Had the time they'd spent together just talking and going on walks in the forest, all of it meant nothing to Drago? Lenora knew that even if it was for the best, their parting was hurting her inside. How could Drago be so thoughtless?

"How can you say that? I'm _leaving_ and I don't know if I'll ever see you again!" she protested.

"We're not going to be parted." Before Lenora could ask what Drago meant, she gasped as he opened his hand, revealing the other half to the pendant he wore on his neck. It was a pure white stone engraved with an angel's wing and he placed on Lenora's neck before he took her hand into his. "Lenora Horrendous Haddock the Third…Angel Light, from the first moment I saw you, I've loved you more than words can ever say. Will you join me in my travels and marry me?"

Lenora's heart was pounding and tears were pooling in her eyes. Drago had just proposed marriage and proclaimed his love, but Lenora couldn't accept either one. _Oh, what have I done? Thor Almighty, what have I done?_ She'd always fantasied about marrying her true love but now wasn't the time for a wedding. She wasn't ready for it and even so, by the laws of Berk, she was too young. Not to mention that while Lenora cared for Drago, her heart didn't belong to him. Lenora's heart had always been and was still Aster's.

"Drago…" Lenora was never going to forgive herself for this. How had she let this happen? "Drago, I-I'm sorry. I'm flattered. You mean a great deal to me as a friend, but I don't want anything more than that and I'm so, so sorry that I led you to believe otherwise. I never meant to hurt you."

Lenora looked over the events of the last two weeks in her mind and failed to see how she could've led Drago on. She hadn't even been expecting him to propose like this when he hadn't shown any sign. They hadn't been courting properly and Stoick knew nothing of Drago! Besides, how could Lenora be certain Drago's feelings for her were actual true love and not misplaced gratitude for all she'd done to help him recover from his dragon attack? But nevertheless, Lenora hated herself for so being so oblivious and hurting Drago's feelings like this.

Drago was hurt, that much was clear by the wounded look on his face and the angry look in his dark brown eyes.

"I don't understand this. I can give you everything, protect you from the dragons, and yet you refuse me? You told Dagur that you didn't love him because you love another! How can it not be me? Or was that a lie?"

"No, it wasn't a lie!" said Lenora. She ran her fingers though her hair as she struggled to explain. "There's a boy back on Berk. His name is Aster. I've loved him all my life and I love him still." Aster was everything she wanted in a man, and even though he knew nothing of her feelings, it didn't change the fact that Lenora loved him. "But that doesn't mean you and I can't still be friends. Drago—"

Drago wasn't listening. He pulled away from Lenora and glared at her. "You'll regret this. You are _mine_ and no one else's. Just you wait and see!"

 _What? What's he talking about?_ Lenora started chasing after Drago as he stormed off into the woods. "Drago! Drago, wait, please!"

But Drago was gone before Lenora could catch him, leaving her alone and heartbroken. As she sat on the forest floor, weeping, she thought back to the last two weeks and realized that it was truly better this way. At first, things between Lenora and Drago had been fine, but as time went on Drago was frightening more often than he was kind, sometimes she could see he disliked how she handled things and he'd strongly voiced his thoughts on how she could change, and Lenora suspected Drago was the one who'd scared the living daylights out of Dagur and brutally injured him before Dagur left the island with Oswald.

What had started out innocent and friendly had become dark and dangerous. Regret and guilt ate Lenora as she thought of her extremely foolish behavior.

 _I never should've done this, kept Drago a secret._ He could've severely injured Lenora or worse when she'd refused him. What had she been thinking? _Drago was a never a true friend. He never truly accepted me for me. He never really cared about anything except for his power. Everything was just a lie, a fantasy, a mistake…just like me._

 **XXX**

The following day, Lenora slept late and missed the last meeting.

When she'd gone back to the village for dinner, something in the food hadn't agreed with her. She'd been up late being sick as a dog while Stoick had rubbed her back to calm her, fetched her water to drink when it was over and sat up half the night make sure she wasn't going to be ill again.

When Lenora awoke, she was no longer sick but there was a feeling of dread in her stomach. Judging by the light coming in from the window, Stoick should've returned and had them sailing back to Berk by now. Then she smelled the smoke and began to panic.

Quickly, Lenora raced out of bed and to the edge of the village, only to stop in her tracks when she saw that the meeting hall was ablaze and the villagers were trying desperately to put it out.

 _Oh, Thor, no! Not him. Not my dad! Please, no!_

"DAD!" screamed Lenora, as she ran towards the burning hall.

"It's too late! Your father's burnt and joined Valhalla with the rest of those fools!"

Lenora froze when she saw Drago standing behind her with a smug, deranged look on his face that made Lenora's blood ran cold.

"Drago, please," she begged, as her throat tightened. She didn't want to believe that Drago had done this, betrayed her in the worst way, but the evidence seemed undeniable. " _Please,_ tell me you didn't do this."

"I did," replied Drago, his voice was cold and hard as steel. "And I regret nothing!"

Lenora felt as though the rug had been yanked out from under her feet as grief and horror threatened to overwhelm her. _How could he? How could he do this?_ Destruction and loss of human life on such a scale committed by someone that she'd trusted…

"Why?" she demanded, through her tears. "Why did you do this? How could you?" So many innocent lives lost, including Stoick's, and all for what? Lenora had shown Drago kindness, offered him friendship and trusted him! And in return, he'd betrayed her.

Drago's eyes narrowed. "How could I not? I gave them a chance to be liberated from the dragon menace, to be live under my rule, but they refused my generous protection, so I showed them the error of their ways. And now that there's one less tie to Berk, you're one step closer to severing ties with your past and loving me as you should've done in the first place!"

Lenora's tears ceased flowing and she began shaking with rage. "You murdered my father because of some delusion that it would make me love you?" _I can't believe I ever thought that Drago was a good man. I never should've helped him in the first place._ Never before had she regretted an act of compassion or hated someone as much as she did in that moment. "You're wrong! All you've accomplished is proving to me that you are madman and a heartless murderer! After today, I will _never_ love you! I'd sooner _die_ than marry you, Drago! And once Berk finds out what you've done, you'll regret _ever_ meeting me!"

Lenora's threat alone would've made an ordinary man quake with fear, but Drago was no ordinary man. He grinned a sickening grin as he grabbed Lenora by the wrist.

"I don't think so," he said, as his lip curled. "You're _mine_ and if I can't have you, then no one on this earth will!"

Despite Lenora's protests and her attempts to fight him off, Lenora was dragged to a cliff's edge by Drago, who refused to let her go. Before he could do anything more, the ground shook from an earthquake that caused Drago to release Lenora. Unable to run, Lenora clung to a nearby tree branch for dear life, then suddenly the ground beneath Drago crumbled and he lunged for Lenora. He grabbed the pendant he'd given her and the cord snapped as he fell back into the sea and disappeared beneath the dark blue waves.

Lenora closed her eyes tightly and willed herself not to feel sick knowing that she'd just let Drago die like that. She'd knew that had he lived and gone to Berk to be punished, it wouldn't have changed the outcome, but Lenora had never done anything like that before now and she disliked how it made her feel. It felt wrong.

Eventually, the earthquake ceased and Lenora fell to her knees in grief. Her heart ached with not just grief for the loss of her father and the lives of all the others who'd died for Drago's madness, but also with guilt for her unwittingly role in their deaths. If she'd never gone to the beach or if she hadn't helped Drago or if she'd just _told_ someone about him, or if she hadn't been so blind as to the kind of man he really was, the tragedy would've been prevented. But she hadn't and now their deaths were on her hands as well as Drago's. Now with her remaining parent gone, Lenora was an orphan.

"Dad, forgive me. I'm so sorry," she murmured. _It's all my fault. It's all my fault!_

"Lenora?"

Lenora spun around in hopeful disbelief and saw Stoick standing behind her. He was covered in ash and soot, and was sporting some bumps, bruises and burns, but seemed otherwise unharmed. He was alive. He was _alive!_

"Dad!"

Without hesitation, Lenora ran into her father's arms and buried her face in his shoulder as she cried and silently thanked the gods for Stoick's survival. Stoick seemed to share in Lenora's feelings, for he was holding her so tightly she almost couldn't breathe. Eventually, they broke apart.

"I'm so glad you're okay. I was so scared you might've…how did you survive? I saw the fire. I thought—"

"I'm all right, Lenora," interrupted Stoick. His green eyes were filled with concern. He'd obviously panicked when she hadn't been found on the boat. "It's not important right now. Are you hurt? Did you see him?"

"I'm fine, Dad," assured Lenora. Physically, she was perfectly fine. "Did I see who? Who's 'him'?" _As if I didn't already know…_

Stoick's eyes darkened with pain and rage. "A madman called Drago Bludvist. He attacked the meetinghouse with armored dragons when we refused to follow him. I was the only survivor. Did you see him, Lenora? He was huge, as big as I am with a prosthetic arm, scars and a dragonskin cloak. Did you see him at all?"

For a moment Lenora was about to tell Stoick everything about Drago, but then she fell silent as she realized what might happen if Stoick knew the truth. _I can't tell Dad the truth about Drago. He'll be as ashamed of me as I am. What if he hates me?_ Cowardly it might've seemed, but the idea of Stoick's worst possible reaction was just too much for her bear, so Lenora did the only thing she thought she could do.

"No," she lied. "No, I haven't seen anyone like that, Dad."

Much to her relief, Stoick accepted Lenora's answer without question. He accepted that Drago had escaped and prayed they'd never encounter the likes of him again. Once Stoick was examined by the village's physician, he and Lenora left Odin Island, deeply shaken by the tragic event.

That night, Lenora made a promise to herself. _Though these events will be my eternal shame, the truth behind Drago's attack and what happened between us, shall die with us both and I will face the gods' judgement for my actions when my time comes. Until that day comes, I will strive to do all I can to atone for my role in this tragedy._

 **XXX**

 _ **Berk, present time**_

As Lenora finished telling her tale, her audience was gazing at her with shocked and horrified expressions and tear-filled eyes. In the past eight years, Lenora had never given any indication that she was carrying such a terrible burden and knowing they'd been oblivious to her pain caused them much pain and misery.

Toothless looked equally upset, but he kept silent. Instead, Toothless leaned against Lenora and allowed her to use him for support. Then Toothless wrapped his tail around Lenora and gently nuzzled her in an attempt to comfort her. Lenora was grateful for the dragon's actions as she needed him now more than ever.

"I thought Drago died that day, that the world was safe from his insanity, but I was wrong," said Lenora, her voice dull with pain. "I was as much to blame for the lives taken that day as Drago was. He nearly killed you, Dad, and he would've destroyed Berk too. I don't know why he didn't. But the fact that he's planning to do so now means that whatever happens is _my_ fault. I messed up and now I have to make sure no one else pays the price."

Stoick was pale and looked visibly ill. "Lenora…"

" _That's_ why you insisted Eret was lying about Drago," said Aster. He looked visibly hurt. "And you've carried that all these years? I can understand why you didn't tell Stoick, but why didn't you ever tell _me?_ "

Lenora understood why Aster was hurt. She was his fiancée. They weren't supposed to keep secrets like this from each other and yet she had. She'd lied to her family, her people and worst of all, she'd lied to _him_. But as hurt as Aster was, he needed to understand _why_ Lenora had done what she had, even though it had killed her inside to do so.

"I never told _anyone_ , not even Toothless. And I wanted to, Aster, believe me, I wanted to. But I couldn't. It took me years to move on past the guilt and shame I felt. By the time I thought I was over it, you and I were together and I couldn't risk losing you over my secret," said Lenora. She hung her head as a lone tear slid down her cheek. "I know that doesn't help, but it's the truth. I'm sorry that I kept secrets from you, I truly am. But it changes nothing."

"You're right, it does change nothing," said Aster, causing Lenora to look up at him in shock. But there was no hint of anger or judgment to be found in Aster's voice or on his face, only concern and love. "This secret doesn't change the fact that there's nothing in this world or the next to change how I feel about you. It doesn't change the fact that I have always and will always love you or that I'm still going to marry you or that you are not to blame for this madman's actions. You didn't know what Drago was going to do, Lenora. You may not believe it wasn't your fault, but _I_ do."

"As do I," said Stoick, firmly. He gently lifted Lenora's chin, making her look at him. "Nora, listen to me very carefully. Men like Drago, men who kill without reason…their actions are their own. They're not ours to bear. You were trying to do the right thing and you were in the wrong place at the wrong time, that's all! There's nothing you could've done to prevent Drago's actions then _or_ now. He's a madman with brainwashed dragons on his side. What he did, he would've done even if he hadn't met you. I need you to believe that."

The more Aster and Stoick spoke, the more Lenora came to see the truth in the words and she felt some of her guilt and shame fade away. _They're right. There's nothing I could've done back then._ And just like that, Lenora no longer felt burdened by the past. However, there were still some things that no amount of encouragement from Aster and Stoick could change. Drago's motives for his return and future attack on Berk, for one.

"I believe you," she said, making them all sigh in relief. "But be that as it may, it doesn't change the fact that what's happening down is partly because of me."

Everyone groaned and tensed, Stoick even looked angry.

"Lenora," said Stoick, warningly.

Lenora ignored Stoick as she got onto Toothless' back. "I know what Drago's like and I know he's not going to stop until either he has me or he's gone for good. He almost took my family away from me once, I won't let that happen again. A Chieftess, so for the good of Berk and all of you, I'm going after Drago and I'm going to stop him by any means necessary, with or without your aid and consent. Just go back and get Berk ready. If I fail, then someone needs to make sure that Berk survives. Good-bye." She patted Toothless' cheek. "C'mon, bud. Let's go."

And with that, Lenora took off with Toothless and didn't look back.


	5. Mother and Daughter

**Mother and Daughter**

As the sun began to set, Lenora and Toothless flew away towards Drago's location.

It was only when Toothless was gliding on top of a seemingly endless sea of white clouds and mist that Lenora could no longer restrain herself. She let out a very long, very _loud_ roar of frustration and then laid down on her back. She let out a very long, very _loud_ scream of frustration before lying on her back.

" _You okay?_ " asked Toothless, sounding concerned.

"No, bud, I most certainly am _not_ okay." Everything had been going so perfectly and now it was all messed up and unless she fixed it and _fast_ , it would stay that way. Why couldn't Drago have just stayed gone? Why couldn't she do what she needed to do without so much resistance from the others? "Why can't they understand, Toothless? I don't want to do this, but there's no choice! If I don't surrender to Drago, I'll lose everything and everyone I've ever loved and I can't bear that—not again. This is the only way to keep everyone safe."

" _You can't blame them for their reactions. They're doing this because they love you and want you to be safe, just like I do_ ," said Toothless, gently. " _They're acting out of love, that's all. And maybe they feel that there's another way for you to handle Drago without risking losing you. You can't tell me if the situation was reversed, you wouldn't be doing what they're doing now_."

Lenora was forced to admit Toothless had a point. "It's true, I wouldn't." Lenora rarely gave in to the first option to handle a problem, she always had to find a way of her own to do it, and usually it was a better one. "But what's the use of arguing when it changes nothing? Drago needs to be dealt with and I don't know any other way of stopping him without risking the loss of innocent lives. Losing my mom and thinking I'd lost my dad hurt enough. Losing another human I care about or you would be too much to bear."

Toothless let out a soft, soothing purr. " _You will never lose me. Just try and relax. We're going to get through this somehow, Lenora, and we'll do it together, I promise._ "

Lenora smiled and felt comforted at Toothless' words, but her smile faded when a huge gust of icy wind and snow blew them off course and into a rock formation. A terrible blizzard had come up out of nowhere. Lenora clung to Toothless' saddle for dear life while the Night Fury sank his claws into the rock so they wouldn't get blown all over creation. Despite their efforts, the winds were too strong for them to fight against.

Just when Lenora thought they were going to be lost in the winds, a dragon rider adorned in painted armor and a spiky mask, carrying a staff and shield descended from the clouds. The rider was standing on a Stormcutter, a rare kind of dragon with four wings.

Lenora didn't become tense with suspicion or tremble with fear, rather she was curious about the mysterious rider and its dragon. The Stormcutter seemed vaguely familiar, but Lenora didn't know why. It was then that she noticed that unlike Toothless, the Stormcutter wasn't struggling against the fierce winds and nor was it in an attack position. The Stormcutter was hovering near Lenora while the masked rider was kneeling down on the dragon's neck, extending their staff out for Lenora to grasp. They were trying to _help_. Lenora knew the masked rider's efforts wouldn't do much good, but thankfully she had an idea that would.

"Hey!" she yelled, loudly so she could be heard against the wind. "If you're trying to help, that won't work! But I've got an idea! I've got some rope! Do you think you could have your Stormcutter tow us to somewhere safe if you tied an end on him?"

The masked rider nodded and then as soon as Lenora got out her rope and tied one end on Toothless' saddle, she tossed the other end to the masked rider. The masked rider snatched up the rope and tied the other end around the Stormcutter's tail. Once the rope was secure, the masked rider and Stormcutter towed Lenora to a giant cavern made of spiked ice and rock. It looked similar to the spiky ice formation Lenora had seen earlier, which both intrigued and concerned her. Whoever the masked rider was, they had some powerful friends behind them.

Inside the cave, it was dimly lit but also warmer than it was outside and full of countless dragons of all species and colors. Some looked at Lenora and Toothless with awe and wonder while some of the others did not. When Lenora slid off Toothless' back, untied the rope and dusted herself clean of the ice and snow, she realized the masked rider and Stormcutter were gone and she was being encircled by the other dragons. A Rumblehorn then approached her and growled.

Protective as always, Toothless took a defensive stance and growled menacingly, only to cease doing so and become still when Lenora raised her hand. She was glad of Toothless' protection, but she intended to pacify the dragons on her own.

" _It's all right,_ " said Lenora, in dragonese. She couldn't help but smirk when she heard the dragons' reactions. They were all shocked. No human had ever spoken in their native tongue before. " _I'm not here to hurt you. I'm a friend._ "

" _You speak our tongue!_ " said a Raincutter. " _Such a thing is impossible._ "

Lenora chuckled. How many times had she heard that before? " _It's been my experience that when you put your mind to it, very little is impossible._ "

" _Very little indeed! We believed that the Night Furies were extinct, but then heard that one had aided a dragon rider in vanquishing the Red Death_ ," said a Snafflefang. " _We didn't know if it was true. Is it? Are you the heroes that we were told of?_ "

Toothless nodded and stood proudly beside Lenora. " _It was us. Lenora not only did the impossible by helping me fly again when I was crippled and bridging the gaps between her world and ours, but because of her efforts, she and I were able to vanquish the Red Death forever._ "

"Toothless!" hissed Lenora. A simple 'yes,' or 'no,' would've sufficed as Lenora wasn't prone to bragging about her accomplishments, good or bad. She was very modest.

At the mention of the Red Death's demise, the dragons began to murmur amongst themselves. Red Death had been a plague on the lives of all dragons. For centuries, Red Death had forced the dragons to do as she wished or else they would be killed. When Red Death was vanquished, the dragons' lives became peaceful, happier.

Lenora held up her hands when the dragons began to question her all at once. Some asked how she'd done it, others thanked her in gratitude while some still looked on her with suspicion.

" _Silence!_ " she said, gently. " _I did what I had to do to stop Red Death, nothing more. And even so, it was a team effort. It never would've happened without Toothless. But that's not what's important. I know you've had bad encounters with dragon trappers lately, but there's no need for hostility or fear towards me. I'm not here to hurt you—any of you. My friend and I are just here to wait out the storm. Look, I'll even prove that I'm a friend._ "

Lenora drew her sword, ignited it and then waved it around. The dragon fire pacified some of the dragons, but not all. Undeterred, Lenora spread out Zippleback gas and ignited it and then divided up her supply of dragonmint while softly humming one of her best dragon-soothing lullabies. It did the trick and the dragons finally accepted Lenora and Toothless as allies. The Rumblehorn that had previously snarled at Lenora, came up and nuzzled her hand before she had a chance to show submission and extend it.

" _You're a rare jewel among humans, dragon rider_ ," said a voice.

Lenora turned to see the Stormcutter approaching as the other dragons backed away in respect

" _Thank you_ ," she said. " _Not just for the compliment, but also for helping us escape the storm._ "

" _It was the least I could do,_ " said the Stormcutter, modestly. " _But where are my manners? I am called Cloudjumper. What is your name and what is its meaning?_ "

Lenora raised an eyebrow in confusion. Why would a dragon care about her name's meaning? It made no sense, but nevertheless, she replied, " _My name is Lenora. Generally, it means 'light.' It was my mother's idea. She believed I was to be the light of my village. Why do you ask?_ "

All the dragons' faces lit up with hope and amazement and they began to whisper amongst themselves. Some even let out cries of delight before falling silent at Cloudjumper's own roar.

" _Then if this is so, then you are indeed the one,_ " said Cloudjumper. " _You are the one that our protector, my rider has been waiting for. When I step aside, you'll meet her properly. I have no doubt she'll recognize you immediately once she's gotten a better look at you and then she'll rejoice. She's waited for you to come for a very long time._ "

" _Me?_ " echoed Lenora, in stunned disbelief. Why would the masked rider have been waiting for Lenora? How could the rider even know of Lenora? " _Why? And how long has she been waiting?_ "

" _Because you are the light of Berk and now that you've come, she can return to her old homeland. She's been waiting for seventeen long years_ ," said Cloudjumper.

Seventeen years? Waiting for _Lenora_ so she could go home? What was the dragon talking about? Before Lenora could reply, the dragons stepped aside and the masked rider entered the circle. The masked rider crouched down and kept her shield up as she walked around the room.

"Who _are_ you?" asked Lenora. "Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for what you did, but your friend Cloudjumper said that you've been expecting me for some reason. And yes, I can understand and speak dragons' tongue. What's your name?"

The masked rider didn't reply. She just waved her staff around and then all the dragons in the cave made the room light up with their fire.

Toothless crouched defensively and pulled Lenora closer to him with his tail. He growled as the masked rider dropped her staff and shield, crouched down onto all fours like an animal and as soon as the masked rider was close, she did a hand movement in front of Toothless' eyes. But whatever the rider had intended with their hand movement, it didn't work. Toothless kept up his defensive stance and growled at the rider, who pulled back in surprise.

"Toothless is well-trained. He won't fall for any of your tricks. He obeys only me and only does otherwise if I'm in danger," said Lenora, feeling proud of her accomplishment. But nevertheless, she gave Toothless a look out of the corner of her eye and raised two fingers, signaling him to stand down. She didn't know why but she had the feeling she could trust this masked rider and if she was wrong, then Toothless would protect her.

Toothless lowered his defensive stance, but his green eyes remained narrowed and he kept his gaze on the masked rider.

The masked rider made no reply as she approached Lenora then reached out to touch her. Her fingers brushed against the underside of Lenora's chin, tracing the faint scar Lenora had gotten when she'd fallen off the kitchen table when she was three. For some reason, Lenora did not pull away from the rider's touch, but she felt her breath get caught in her throat.

The rider's hand soon pulled away, rather hesitantly.

"Lenora?" she whispered, sounding both shaken and hopeful. "My sweet light, is that really you?"

Lenora's heart skipped a beat. _That voice. I know that voice! That's…no, it can't be. It just can't!_ She recognized that voice, how could she not? And even so, only one person had ever referred to Lenora as "my sweet light." But their return to Lenora's life just wasn't possible, was it?

"You found me," whispered the masked rider. "After all these years of waiting, you found me."

"Who _are_ you?" asked Lenora, as her voice cracked. "Show me your face. _Now_." She was terrified of what she was about to see as part of her hoped she was wrong while the rest of her prayed that she wasn't. But regardless of what she saw, she knew it wasn't going to end well.

The rider took off her mask and then Lenora couldn't breathe. The face behind the dragon rider's mask was one that Lenora had not seen except in her dreams and in a painting in the Great Hall for over seventeen years.

"Mom?" gasped Lenora, as her hand flew to her mouth.

The rider was Lenora's "dead" mother, Valka "Val" Horrendous Haddock, Stoick's wife and the former Chieftess of Berk. Only, it seemed that somehow she was alive, which wasn't possible. The dead did not return. It couldn't happen.

"It's me, sweetheart," said Val, as tears glistened in her green eyes. "I'm your mother. I'm here."

Despite having dreamed of this moment, desperately prayed for it more times than she could count, Lenora did not react as one might've expected—with hugs, tears of joy, smiles and feelings of happiness. Instead, she reacted quite differently. When Val reached out for Lenora, Lenora took a step backwards, and felt a wave of anger, sadness and confusion as her eyes narrowed at Val.

"No. You stay away! Don't come near me!" said Lenora, as she gripped her sword and willed herself not to draw it then and there. She kept her tone low and cold, but she was finding it hard to keep control over her temper and not start yelling. "I don't know what this is or who in the Nine Realms you think you are, but you should be ashamed of yourself! If this is some kind of sick joke, I'm _not_ laughing. Or if somehow, this is real and you are who you claim to be—" Lenora refused to actually say it. "—then I want nothing to do with you. You're not my mother."

Val looked taken aback by Lenora's attitude and tried to appeal to her. "Lenora, I know this is a shock and it seems hard to accept, but I _am_ your mother. You don't understand—"

" _Understand?!_ You're darn right, I don't understand!" interrupted Lenora, as her voice rose a little in volume. She couldn't believe this was happening and nor could she comprehend _how_ or _why_ it was happening. If this woman was an imposter, Lenora would have no problem leaving her in the dust. But if this was some kind of miracle, if Val was actually returned from the dead then that meant that Val had abandoned not only Berk, but also her own family, which was unforgivable. "WHO ARE YOU?"

Tears glittered in Val's eyes. "You _know_ who I am. I'm your mother!"

"STOP SAYING THAT!" If this woman truly was Lenora's mother returned from the dead, why hadn't she returned to Berk? Why had she left her husband and child alone for so long? That wasn't like Val. In her life, she'd been a devoted wife and mother who swore to always be with her loved ones. This couldn't be true. This woman had to be an imposter. It was the only logical explanation. "My mother _died_ seventeen years ago from sickness! I was there when she died and I was at her funeral when we burned her body and sent it out to sea! You can't _possibly_ be her!" said Lenora, furiously.

Lenora remembered the night of her mother's passing all too well. Val had been sick for weeks, and despite Gothi's best efforts, Val's sickness was the kind that didn't get better. The night of her mother's death, Stoick had been out dealing with a crisis and Lenora had had a nightmare and was afraid of the storm raging outside, so she sought her mother's comfort. Despite how sick and weak she was, Val had taken Lenora into her arms and they'd cuddled for the rest of night. Val had stroked Lenora's hair and sang lullabies and they'd told one another that they loved each other and then Lenora had gone to sleep.

The following morning, she'd woken up in her father's arms, looking at his grief-stricken face as he told her that Val had passed away in her sleep. That same day, Val was given a Viking's funeral and was still mourned and deeply missed by all even after nearly two decades.

"Lenora…"

Yet again Val reached out in an attempt to touch her, but Lenora pulled away and Val pulled back as Toothless snarled and snapped at her. Toothless wouldn't hesitate to attack the woman if given the command. She may have helped them escape the storm, but she was upsetting Lenora and Toothless hated anything and anyone who upset Lenora.

"Cloudjumper said you'd been living here for seventeen years! The fact that you've been here for the past seventeen years proves that you're lying, because my mother loved me and my dad and she _never_ would've abandoned us!" interrupted Lenora, as tears slid down her cheeks. "She would've come straight back home to us and been there for me growing up just like she promised!"

There had been so many times over the past seventeen years when Lenora had needed her mother for comfort or to see a milestone in Lenora's life, and just as many more times when Lenora had just wanted Val there because she missed her so much that it hurt. And it wasn't just Val's absence from Lenora's life that upset her. Stoick had been devastated and incredibly lonely after Val's death; so much so that he could rarely speak of Val without becoming upset and on the anniversary of Val's death, if he managed to get out of bed, he'd spend the day at their special spot doing nothing but sit there and grieve.

Lenora had always believed that if Val could've been there, she would've, that Val never would've left or stayed away of her own volition and for Lenora to see that her beliefs had been wrong broke Lenora's heart and angered her in ways she never thought possible.

Regret crossed Val's face. "You have no idea how much I regret that, dearest. I never wanted to be away from you like this. If I could've been there, I would have, believe me."

"You've given me no reason to," said Lenora, coldly. As much as she wanted to believe this, she couldn't. It was just too much.

Val's shoulders slumped and her voice shook. "Lenora…I don't know what to say, except that I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything. What do you want me to say?"

"How about the truth?" said Lenora, in exasperation. _For heaven's sake, what does she think I want?_ "If you want me to believe you, then I want proof that you are who you say you are and an explanation for everything that's happened and I want it _now_. And it had better be the cold, hard truth. Otherwise, you won't like the consequences."

Val sighed. "Very well. Do you remember the stories you were told of the rare few souls that the gods deemed worthy of a second chance at life?"

Lenora frowned as she nodded. She remembered her grandfather's crazy stories about the few people who were granted a second chance at life if either they were deemed worthy by the worthiness of their souls or if they passed a test that the gods placed upon them. Lenora had never believed that they were true and just passed them off as stories to give hope to grieving people.

Val took a deep breath. "Well, they're true. Seventeen years ago, after I died, I longed more than anything to go back. I felt that my life's mission was incomplete. There was so much I needed to do for Berk and more importantly, I wanted to be there to grow old with my husband and raise my only child that I loved so dear. I pleaded with the gods for mercy and so they gave me a chance to take their test. I was to walk up a steep path and never look back, not for an instant and no matter what I heard or saw. If I did as I was told, I could return to Berk as do as I wished with my life. I took their test and almost succeeded."

"Almost?" echoed Lenora, with a skeptical look on her face. _If she 'almost' passed, then how on earth is this woman here now? Either she did or she didn't. There's no 'almost' in this story._ It was just another lie, and the mere thought further angered Lenora.

Fresh tears pooled in Val's eyes. "I was near the end when I thought I heard you crying out for me in pain. My instincts took over and I turned to help you, but it was a cruel trick. I failed the test but the gods took pity and gave me a chance at life. I was excited at first, but then I learned that the gods' gift came with a price."

Both Lenora and Toothless' ears perked up in curiosity at this.

"What price?" asked Lenora, warily.

Val's eyes closed as she hung her head. "I could not return to Berk nor see my family again until 'the light of Berk astride the fury of the night' crossed my path. I tried to defy this at first but when I did, the gods worked against me. If I tried to go near Berk, either an obstacle like a terrible storm would force me back or I would feel unimaginable pain that almost killed me until I returned from whence I came. So, having no other choice, I stayed away from Berk and I stayed away from you. But I took no pleasure in it. Every day I spent away hurt more than you could imagine. You and your father were the first things I thought of when I woke up in the morning and the last things before I went to sleep at night. And every single day for seventeen years, I waited, I hoped and I prayed for the day when you'd find me. That's the truth, Lenora, I promise, it's the truth."

Lenora hesitated and then looked at Toothless. " _Do you think she's lying?_ " Even when she was questioning her own judgment, Lenora never doubted Toothless' in times of need.

Toothless looked puzzled. " _I know it seems ludicrous, but there might be some truth to it. While every individual's scent is different, there's always a small similarity between blood-kin. Her scent bears a similarity to yours and your family's. That can't be faked._ "

The woman's story bore resemblance to many of the stories Lenora had grown up with. Her similar scent combined with the woman's mannerisms and voice being similar to that of Lenora's late mother was a great deal of proof, but it wasn't enough. Lenora needed something more before she was convinced of the woman's tale.

"Say I believe you. You still haven't given me any real proof. So, do so now. Tell me of the one thing that _only_ my mother and I knew. What was your last lullaby? The one only you and I knew, the last one you _ever_ sang to me?" asked Lenora.

Val's last lullaby, the one she sang to Lenora before she died, had been their little secret. It was a just little song Val had made up to cheer Lenora up when she was feeling down, but it meant the world to Lenora as it reminded her of how much Val treasured her. No one had ever known about it, not even Stoick or Gobber or Aster or Toothless.

Lenora waited for this woman to provide her with proof of her alleged identity and she wasn't disappointed.

The expression on the woman's face changed to that of a mother soothing its child as she began to softly sing.

" _Sun goes down, and we are here together_

 _Fireflies glow like a thousand charms_

 _Stay with me and you can dream forever_

 _Right here in my arms_

 _It's magic when you are here beside me_

 _Close your eyes and let me hold you tight_

 _Everything that I could ever need is_

 _Right here in my arms tonight_ …"

Lenora trembled as tears slid down her cheeks.

It was exactly as she remembered—every word, the melody, even her mother's voice and mannerisms as she sang the lullaby. There could be no denying it. The woman standing before her was her mother, Val, returned from the dead. Every word she'd spoken was true.

"It's you. It's really you. Mama," sobbed Lenora. Her knees buckled and she would've fallen had Toothless not caught her with his head and then Val swept Lenora into her arms and held Lenora on the cavern floor.

Lenora buried her face in her mother's chest and wept as she wrapped her arms around Val, determined to never let Val go again.

Despite how grown Lenora was, Val cradled Lenora as though Lenora were still a little child. She held Lenora close, stroked Lenora's hair and rocked her just like she used to do before they'd been parted so many years ago.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, sorry I didn't believe you…" sobbed Lenora. She should've known better. She should've known!

"Hush. It's all right. Oh, my beautiful little girl," murmured Val, sounding choked with emotion and tears. "My baby…my Lenora…my sweet light. I'm here and I'm never letting you go again."

After seventeen long years of separation, mother and daughter were finally reunited and it was a reunion that was both beautiful and long in the making.

 **XXX**

Meanwhile, Stoick and Gobber were frantically searching for Lenora.

Stoick had sent Aster and the others back to Berk while and Gobber tried to track down his stubborn daughter. Though it was still snowing something fierce, the blizzard had calmed down enough for them to travel.

Stoick was not happy—either with the dire situation at hand or Lenora's stubbornness. "That girl of mine is the most boar-headed fool I've ever known!"

"Just like her father, eh?" teased Gobber.

"And her mother," grumbled Stoick. The gods pardon him from speaking ill of his wife, but there were a few of Val's qualities that Stoick disliked. "Val had trouble staying put and doing as she was told, too!"

"But you still loved her for it, didn't you?" reminded Gobber, as Stoick nodded. Gobber recalled the former Chieftess fondly as a compassionate yet stubborn and fierce Viking with a temper equal to Stoick's. Val had been one of the few unafraid to take Stoick down a peg and the she was the only woman Stoick ever feared. "Besides, Lenora's just twenty-three and Viking. I mean, could there be a worse combination? Heh! When I think of how stubborn and senseless you were back in the day…" Gobber was smiling but then his face fell as he realized the mistake in his statement. "Actually, nothing's changed. Anyway, why won't you just admit it? You're still ticked that she kept this from you, aren't you?"

Stoick groaned as he nodded. "Aye." It broke his heart to think of Lenora suffering in silence for eight years, blaming herself for Drago's madness and Stoick's near-death experience. Stoick blamed himself for not seeing the truth sooner. There had been holes in Lenora's story and something odd about her reaction, but Stoick had been too consumed by his own emotional turmoil that he'd failed to notice Lenora's. Stoick didn't know what was worse: learning that Lenora had spent eight years thinking Stoick would blame her for something beyond her control or learning how close he'd come to losing her that terrible day. "By the gods, Gobber, I almost lost her to Drago that day and didn't know it! I should've seen through her lie and known that something was wrong!"

 _I almost lost my daughter_. Stoick felt his stomach twist into knots and his heart pound with fear as he thought of Lenora being Drago's prisoner and Stoick having no idea what had happened or where Lenora was. It hadn't been for the earthquake, Stoick's life would've ended. Stoick was also angry, both with himself and with Drago for tormenting his daughter. If Drago was there, Stoick would smash Drago with his hammer and then let Skullcrusher eat him.

"Look, I'm not happy about this either," said Gobber. The old blacksmith also felt a pang of guilt at knowing of his goddaughter's silent sufferings. He'd always sensed that something was wrong, but just assumed that if it was serious, Lenora would've told him. Gobber was also angry and he wanted to tear Drago limb from limb and feed him to a dragon for what he'd done. "But we can't dwell on the past and beat ourselves up for it. We need to focus on the situation at hand for the lass's sake. What's important is that she's here now, we know now and now that we know, we can tear Drago limb from limb for daring to lay a finger on Lenora."

Stoick sighed yet again as he realized Gobber was right. Dwelling on the past like this wasn't helping anyone. "You're right. But you know what Lenora's like, Gobber. She's so stubborn. Once she gets an idea into her head, especially if she thinks it's the right thing to do, she won't give up. And if Lenora finds Drago before we find her…"

Stoick didn't want to think about. That heartless monster had almost destroyed Lenora once. Odin alone knew what Drago would do now that he'd had eight years to rebuild his strength and plan his revenge. He could only pray that they'd find Drago first so that Stoick could end the scoundrel.

Gobber decided to take a more optimistic approach to the situation. "Ah, nothing can hurt Lenora so long as Toothless is around. You know how protective that dragon is of her and besides, he's a _Night Fury_ , one of the most dangerous dragons of all! He'll keep her safe."

Stoick was about to reply when he spotted something floating in a pool of broken ice. Worried, Stoick dove down and scooped it up. Much to his horror, it was Lenora's helmet. It'd been blown off in the blizzard she'd been caught in, but Stoick didn't know that.

Stoick shared a worried look with Gobber before placing the helmet under Skullcrusher's nose. "Find my daughter and her dragon, Skullcrusher. Find them."

The Rumblehorn took a good, long sniff of the helmet and then let out a roar as he picked up speed. One way or another, Skullcrusher would find Lenora and then she'd be safe.

 **XXX**

When Lenora had sufficiently calmed down, Val led through a series of winding tunnels that would take them to what had been Val's home for the past seventeen years. They had much to talk about and within the confines of Val's living quarters would be the perfect place to chat.

Now, Lenora had explored many new lands and seen many incredible sights over the last five years, but her mother's home took her breath away.

It was a gigantic sunlit cavern made of ice and rock, hot waterfalls gushed into deep pools down below, there was an abundance of lush green plants of all kinds everywhere and the largest number of dragons Lenora had ever seen in all colors, species, size and age, all living in peace. Strangely enough, it reminded Lenora of home where she was safe and happy, for that was exactly how she felt then and there as she gazed at the ice sanctuary.

Toothless also seemed happy with it, as he was quite relaxed and purring. But then he looked uneasy as a yellow she-dragon decided she had a crush on Toothless and got a little too close for the Night Fury's liking.

"Wow. This is astounding," murmured Lenora. She looked up at Val, who was clinging to Cloudjumper as the Stormcutter hung from the ceiling. "This is where you've been for seventeen years? And all this time, you've been rescuing dragons?"

Val nodded as her eyes lit up with hope at Lenora's amazed tone. "You're not upset?"

" _Upset?_ " What Val had been doing was incredible and noble and now that Lenora knew the full story, Lenora couldn't find fault with her mother's actions. Besides, if anything, it made Lenora feel even prouder to be Val's daughter. "No. Of course not. I mean, now that I know everything, how could I be? Granted, it's not everyday your mother comes back from the dead and you find out she's a crazy, feral vigilante dragon rescuer, but all the same, I'm proud of you, Mom."

Val smiled and chuckled as Cloudjumper helped her down by attaching the hook of his wing to her staff and then she slid down his other wing.

"Well, at least I'm not boring, right?"

"You were never boring," assured Lenora.

"Thanks, sweetheart. Now, enough of me for now. I want to know more about you and what you've been up to for the last seventeen years," said Val.

"That's quite a long story," said Lenora. _Where do I even begin?_ So much had happened in the last seventeen years and so much had changed. Lenora hadn't the foggiest where to start. After quick moment's thought, she settled on a beginning. "Well, I've been apprenticed to Gobber since I was six. I got quite good at it. I've invented a lot of things, both for the benefit of Berk and for dragons, like Toothless' prosthetic tailfin for one."

Val nodded approvingly. "I'm not surprised. Even when you were a wee lass, you were always drawing blueprints when you thought no one was looking. Now, let me get a good look at you." Val placed her staff down and then she looked over her daughter. "I can't believe how much you've grown. You look so beautiful. Your hair looks so lovely down like that. Oh!" Val gasped in delight as she touched Lenora's betrothal necklace. "My little girl's engaged! Congratulations, dearest. Who's the lucky man?"

Lenora smiled as she brushed her fingers against the necklace. "It's Aster Hofferson."

Val looked pleased. "I knew it. From the moment you first laid eyes on that boy, it's been love at first sight for the two of you. When's the big day?"

"Next spring," said Lenora. "Dad's going to retire then, too."

Val looked astonished. "You're a dragon rider, you're getting married _and_ becoming Chieftess? That's wonderful! I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks, Mom," said Lenora, as they embraced again. It meant more than words could say to hear Val say that. "Heavens, there's so much I want to tell you, I don't know where to begin. Well, first thing you should know is that Berk is no longer at war with dragons."

Val looked surprised. "You mean that?"

Lenora nodded. "Do you know of Red Death?" When Val nodded, Lenora continued. "Well, once Toothless and I vanquished her, the war was over. Everyone on Berk has a dragon now, including Dad. He rides a Rumblehorn he calls Skullcrusher if you can believe it."

Val was stunned beyond belief by what Lenora was saying. "It seems incredible. The idea of your father actually being friends with dragons…"

"He is, Mom," assured Lenora. "It took a while, but he came around and he really cares about the dragons now, believe me."

It seemed unfathomable that Stoick the Vast, once known as one of the greatest dragon slayers in the world was now a dragon lover, but the fact that he was, was proof that if given the chance, anyone could change no matter how stubborn they were.

Val sighed in relief. "Well, thank the gods for that. I was afraid Stoick would never change." The last thing Val wanted was to feel torn between her adopted dragon family and her human one that she loved so much.

Lenora took Val's hand in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Anyway, speaking of dragons, I'd like to introduce you to mine—properly, that is, and assuming we can get him away from his admirers."

Both women laughed at the sight of Toothless being surrounded by some of the dragons in the sanctuary, who were all very curious about the newcomer and perhaps a little too friendly for Toothless' liking. The dragons meant well, but their attention caused him to fold his ears back and curl up onto himself to try and escape it. Then one dragon sniffed a place Toothless didn't like, causing his ears to shoot up and his green eyes to widen before he made them all back off with a loud warning growl and hiss.

Val looked excited. "May I?"

Lenora nodded. "Be my guest."

"Oh, he's _beautiful!_ " crooned Val. She let Toothless sniff her hand and then the Night Fury allowed himself to be fawned over by Val. She giggled when Toothless purred and nuzzled her face. "I've never seen a Night Fury up close before! He may very well be the last of his kind."

Toothless continued purring as he wrapped himself around Val's body like a cat and then rolled onto his back so she could rub his chin and belly.

Val gasped in delight as she pointed to Toothless' chin. "And look! He's your age! No wonder you get along so well!"

Lenora was amazed and pleased by what she was seeing. She'd always believed that Val would love Toothless if they'd been able to meet and now she knew she was right. And to know that Toothless was actually her age as opposed to the decades or centuries that she'd always suspected was quite a surprise, but not an unpleasant one.

 _He's twenty-three, just like I am? Wow._ To think Toothless had been a mere teenager just like her when they'd met all those years ago. It was remarkable.

Val began mimicking Toothless' dragon noises as he held open his mouth and garbled. Then he retracted his teeth and Val looked even more amazed.

"Retractable teeth!" she murmured, as she stuck her head inside Toothless' mouth. " _Incredible!_ "

"I know, isn't it? It's why I thought of calling him Toothless," said Lenora, smiling. The name suited him, but to be fair, it _had_ been the only name he'd liked out of all her suggestions.

"It suits him perfectly," said Val, as she stroked Toothless' head. "How on earth did you ever manage to meet him?"

"Oh! Uh…" Lenora rubbed the back of her neck, as she often did when she was nervous. "About five years ago, I found him, shot down in the woods. He was alone and crippled…" Lenora was nervous because she knew Val was not going to be happy when she learnt _who_ was responsible for Toothless being shot down in the first place.

Val looked saddened and displeased as she rose up and placed hand on a blue Snafflefang that was missing one of its limbs. "This Snafflefang lost his leg to one of Drago Bludvist's iron traps." Val brushed her hand against a pale green and orange speckled female Raincutter's damaged wing. "This Raincutter had her wing sliced by razor netting." Val gently placed her hand on a Hobblegrunt, a rare color-changing dragon's snout. "And this poor Hobblegrunt was blinded by a tree snare and left to die alone and scared."

Lenora's blood ran cold and she looked horrified at the damage done to the dragons. She knew Drago was ruthless, but this was pushing it. _Oh, Thor, Drago, what have you done?_ Was there no end to that madman's cruelty?

"And what of this?" asked Val, snapping Lenora out of her thoughts. Val was now crouched down holding Toothless' prosthetic tailfin in her hands. "Did Drago or his trappers do this too?"

Lenora winced and knew she had to tell the truth. "Actually, no. _I'm_ the one who shot Toothless down. I didn't mean to, but I crippled him."

Val stared at Lenora in stunned disbelief. "You? But why?"

Toothless gave Lenora an encouraging nuzzle, which gave her the courage to speak.

Lenora sighed. "Well, I said that things have changed in Berk, but it wasn't until after Toothless and I had quite a long and crazy flight together, if you know what I mean. When I first met Toothless, I was trying to prove to Dad that I could be a proper Viking and slay a dragon. But when the time came, I couldn't do it. I looked into Toothless' eyes and I saw someone like me: someone who was alone and trying do what was best for everyone else. We were the same."

Toothless purred and nuzzled Lenora as she stroked his head and rubbed behind his ears.

"So, I apologized and I set him free. The next thing I knew, I was helping him fly again and we've been best friends ever since. And I know it may seem crazy, but Toothless prefers flying with me than flying solo. And besides, Toothless got me back." Lenora laughed as Toothless bounced up and down like a little puppy and mimicked her. "He couldn't save all of me during the Battle of Red Death. So, now I've got a peg leg." She held up her peg leg for Val to see.

Toothless let out a happy noise and then slid his head under Lenora, causing her to slide onto his neck. Toothless then tilted his head back and continued purring and stuck out his tongue as Lenora rubbed the underside of his chin.

Val did not get angry as Lenora had feared. She seemed understanding.

"I'm proud of you," said Val. "I know how frightening it can be to face a dragon for the first time, but you did it. You went far above and beyond what I could've imagined and because of what you did, you've got a great friend behind you."

"I know." Lenora smiled proudly at Toothless. "I don't know where I'd be without him." If Lenora had never met Toothless, she never would've survived in the dragon ring or known what it was like to have a true friend and more importantly, Berk wouldn't have changed for the better and the Great War would still be ongoing and she never would've found her mother again.

"And just out of curiosity, how did your father take to Toothless at first? Not too well, I take it?"

"Dad was furious," admitted Lenora. Furious was putting it mildly, as Stoick had briefly disowned Lenora for her friendship with Toothless. "But he came around pretty quickly and so did everyone else on Berk. Things have really changed for the better, Mom. You'd love it there. We don't fight the dragons anymore. They protect us and we take care of them. Even kids are playing with dragons now. You've got to see it believe it."

Val looked hopeful and then hesitant. "I hope I can."

Confused, Lenora slid off Toothless. "Why couldn't you?"

Val sighed. "I want to come home, my sweet light, I do. I just…I'm afraid how Stoick's going to take it when he finds out."

 _Ah._ So, that's what Val was afraid of. Given how Lenora had reacted to Val's return, it was only to be expected that Val feared the same thing. But Lenora wouldn't allow that to happen.

"Has…has he moved on?" asked Val, hesitantly. "I would understand if he has, but…"

"No, Mama." Lenora took Val's hand again and intertwined their fingers. "Dad's never moved on. He still loves you. And don't worry so much. It's going to be okay, I promise. I'll talk to Dad before he sees you, and then everything will be fine, trust me." Stoick would be shocked, but once Lenora explained everything to him, Lenora had every belief that everything would work out fine.

Val smiled a little as she kissed Lenora's forehead. "I do, Nora. I do."

Lenora decided to lighten the mood a bit. "So, now it's my turn for questions. How exactly did you become a dragon rider? How did you get involved in all this? Is it connected to Cloudjumper? Because I swear, I've met him before but I can't quite remember how."

Val's mood brightened immediately. "It all started twenty-three years ago…"

 **XXX**

 _ **Berk, twenty-three years ago.**_

 _The night was dark and hot._

 _Fires blazed, smoke clouded the vision and people screamed as Berk was subjected to yet another dragon raid. This one seemed worse than the others as there was a great deal more damage than ever before. But this was natural as during the Great War, Berk was a land of kill or be killed. However, while nearly every Viking embraced this way of life, Val did not. She believed peace was possible._

 _Val was doing her best to protect both her people and the dragons, but her efforts to stop the violence against the dragons wasn't welcomed, even though she was the Chieftess._

" _Stop!" she cried, as she blocked a Viking from killing a Monstrous Nightmare that had fallen. "You'll only make it worse!"_

 _The Monstrous Nightmare took advantage of the Viking's distraction and flew away. The Viking glared at Val and then resumed fighting._

 _Val couldn't understand why no one could see what she saw nor could she understand why she alone had to be so different than everyone else on Berk._

" _Waah! Waah!"_

 _At the sound of her infant daughter's cries, Val's heart skipped a beat as she turned to see a dragon breaking into her house. "Lenora! Stoick!" Her husband, Stoick, had offered to stay behind and protect Lenora from the dragon raid. Afraid for the life of her husband and her precious baby, Lenora, she rushed into the house and grabbed the nearest sword she could find._

 _But what Val saw surprised her. Stoick lay on the ground unconscious from a bump to the head, but the Stormcutter dragon wasn't harming either Stoick or Lenora. The Stormcutter wasn't paying Stoick any mind and was actually playing with Lenora. He was crouching down, slowly rocking Lenora's cradle and holding one of his claws just out of Lenora's reach. The baby girl was no longer crying in fear, but instead laughing as she tried and failed to grab the Stormcutter's claw._

 _The Stormcutter's actions in making her baby feel safe was proof of everything that Val had ever suspected and believed was possible._

 _It wasn't long before Lenora fell asleep and when she did, the Stormcutter turned to Val. Instinctively, Val held out her sword in fear but as she gazed into the Stormcutter's round, golden eyes, Val lowered her blade and realized that the Stormcutter wasn't a savage beast, but an intelligent gentle creature whose soul mirrored her own._

 _But the moment did not last long as the house began to burn from another dragon's attack. Suddenly, the Stormcutter snatched up the family and got them to safety. He grabbed Val and Stoick in his claws and Lenora in his mouth by her blanket. They were just far enough so that no one would see them._

 _Once they were safe, Val frantically checked her husband for any lasting damage and found none and then she cradled her baby close._

" _Lenora! My sweet light…" fretted Val._

 _She looked over her infant daughter, but the baby showed no signs of being hurt. Little Lenora only whimpered at the noise that had woken her and cuddled up closer to her mother to try and evade it._

 _Val heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank Thor," she murmured. She looked at the Stormcutter gratefully and then gently placed a hand on the dragon's snout, causing him to purr. "Thank you, for saving us. I'm in your debt."_

 _The Stormcutter nodded and then beckoned to for her to get on his back. He wanted Val to take Lenora and come with him. But Val shook her head._

" _As much I want to, I can't go with you. I have a home here, a family," said Val. She longed to further study the dragons, work with them and learn their secrets but she knew it was impossible. She was the Chieftess of Berk, she had a husband who loved her as much as she loved him and more importantly, she had a daughter who needed her. How could she bear to part with them? "I'm sorry, but my place is here with them. But I swear, I will never forget you and I'll try to change things between our races."_

 _The dragon looked disappointed but not surprised. He gave Val a respectful bow, and then took off with the rest of his kind._

 **XXX**

Lenora listened in amazement at her mother's story.

All her life, Lenora had wondered why during the first six years of Lenora's life that Val never slain a dragon, had so strongly disapproved of violence and preferred only to fight when there was no other alternative and now she knew why. Lenora had a whole new respect for Val.

"I never told anyone what I'd experienced. Stoick's a good man, but he can be so stubborn and narrow-minded. He wouldn't have listened. And I had no real proof. But nevertheless, I tried to change things in Berk. I tried to quell the fighting, but I could not always avoid it," said Val. "And while sometimes I wished I had gone with Cloudjumper that night, I knew that no matter what, while I will always love dragons, it can't compare to love I have for my family."

"I understand. You did what you had to," said Lenora. She looked at Cloudjumper with gratitude and respect as the Stormcutter allowed Lenora to stroke his head. " _Thank you, Cloudjumper_."

Cloudjumper bowed his head to Lenora. " _My pleasure, Lenora._ "

Val watched the exchange with amazement. "I'll never understand how you can speak and understand their tongue after only five years while I, who've been with them for seventeen, cannot."

"I can teach you if you'd like," offered Lenora. "It's pretty easy once you get the hang of it."

Val nodded. "I'd love to."

"So, after you came back, did you find Cloudjumper or did he find you?" asked Lenora.

"It was the latter, actually," said Val, as they walked together. "Cloudjumper found me alone in a land far from here. He remembered me. We became friends and he tried to help me get back to Berk. When that failed, he decided he was going to look after me, so he brought me here to the home of the great Bewilderbeast, the Alpha species."

Val brought Lenora to a cliff's edge that overlooked a giant white dragon with black freckles, giant white tusks and ice-blue eyes. The dragon was taking a nap in the warm water down below.

"Holy crap," said Lenora, in amazement. _So this is the one that's been creating those ice formations._ "He's magnificent."

"Isn't he just?" said Val. "You see, Nora, while the Queen of Dragons, the Red Death, causes those who follow her to live in fear, he does just the opposite. The Bewilderbeast, the King of all Dragons, brings peace and protection to all he meets. With his icy-breath, this graceful giant built this nest as safe haven for dragons everywhere."

"Wow," breathed Lenora. No matter how many dragons she encountered, no matter how many times she did this, Lenora would never ceased being amazed and excited by the magnificent creatures. "He must be very benevolent."

"Oh, that he is. But he's also a protector. You should see him in battle. He's unlike anything you'll ever see in your life. He's one of the few left of his kind," said Val. "I think that's partly why he's so benevolent, he's lonely. We all live under his care, Lenora, and his command."

Just then, the biggest baby dragons Lenora had ever seen popped out from behind the foliage and began playing by getting underfoot and crawling all over the Bewilderbeast and Toothless.

"All but the babies, who listen to no one," said Lenora, laughing.

"Indeed," said Val, laughing in agreement.

Val then bowed as the Bewilderbeast awoke and approached them. Toothless and Cloudjumper also bowed, but Lenora remained where she was, unable to move as she looked into the eyes of the mighty Bewilderbeast.

In a panicked moment to try and be respectful, Lenora spoke in dragonese, " _It's an honor to meet you, O Mighty and Gracious Bewilderbeast._ "

The Bewilderbeast seemed to smile at Lenora's words and then he let out a breath of air that left Lenora's hair dusted in ice.

Val chuckled as Lenora got the ice out of her hair. "He likes you."

Lenora felt relieved. "The feeling's mutual."

Lenora's face then grew red when her stomach growled loudly.

Val laughed again, but not unkindly. "It's feeding time. Would you and Toothless care for some supper?"

"As long as it's not a regurgitated fish head," joked Lenora.

Val looked sympathetic. "Toothless tried feeding you one, did he? Cloudjumper did the same to me. He meant well, but I thought I was going to be ill."

Lenora laughed as well. "Tell me about it."

This was going to be interesting.


	6. Husband and Wife Reunited

**Husband and Wife Reunited**

Meanwhile, on glacier far from Berk; Snotlout, Fishlegs and the twins were waiting for Aster to come back from his patrol.

After Lenora had taken off, Stoick had ordered them back to Berk, but naturally they hadn't obeyed orders. Knowing that Stoick, Gobber and Lenora would come back the same way they'd left, Aster and the other former trainees had decided to wait and keep an eye out.

Aster had been unable to stay put for long and kept patrolling the skies, hoping to spot his missing fiancée, but so far he'd had no luck.

"Any sign of them?" asked Snotlout, when Aster landed.

"No. I don't like it," said Aster. He was worried sick about Lenora and hating himself for not chasing after her when he'd had the chance. The gods alone knew what might've happened. "They should've been back with Lenora by now!"

"I don't like it, either," said Ruffnut. She sighed dreamily. "Eret son of Eret was the man of my dreams, my _everything!_ "

Snotlout and Fishlegs looked like they'd just been slapped in the face.

"But babe, I grew facial hair just for you!" protested Snotlout.

"Me too," said Fishlegs, sadly.

Aster growled in irritation, snapping them out of their self-pity and daydreaming. "Guys! Focus! Lenora left _ages_ ago and neither she nor Gobber or Stoick have returned! Anything could've happened by now! For all we know, Drago's got them all captured!" But heaven help Drago if he had, because when Aster found him, Aster was going to make death seem merciful. "We've got to go after them."

Fishlegs stared. "Wait, wait, what? But Stoick said—"

"It doesn't matter _what_ Stoick said if they've all be captured!" said Aster, firmly. "Besides, since when have we ever obeyed Stoick's orders in situations like this?"

Aster raised a good point. While they were all loyal to Chief of Berk; nine times out of ten, in dangerous situations like this, they either followed Lenora's orders or did what they thought was right instead of listening to Stoick.

"Aster's right," said Snotlout, surprising them all. "Lenora needs us. We've got to find her, Uncle Stoick and Gobber before it's too late."

"But how're we going to find Drago's hidey-hole when none of us know where it is?" protested Tuffnut. "We're not his dragon trappers."

"No, but Eret _is_ ," said Snotlout, with a gleam in his eye. "What say we pay him a little visit?"

It was the best idea they'd had since Lenora left and the only lead they had, so Aster was all for it. "I say let's do it. So, let's quit wasting time and get going! Come on!"

That did the trick and soon they were all on their dragons and flying off in search of Eret.

 **XXX**

Eret, son of Eret was not in a good mood and he made no secret of it.

He had good reason to be upset, mind, but his constant complaining and his lack of orders was confusion his dimwitted crew. They hadn't even sailed so much an inch since Berk's dragon riders had taken off.

"Sir, do we go back?" asked No-Name. "We've still got Lenora's money."

Eret, who was nursing the bump on his head with a chunk of ice, glared. "What good is that money to us now? Drago is going to have our _heads_ when he finds out about this! We've got nowhere to go, nothing to sell and no heads to call our own! If we don't turn up with dragons and fast—"

Eret was cut off and started screaming as he was snatched out of the air by Brightscales.

Aster leaned over the side and grinned at his prisoner. "Careful what you wish for!"

"What is this?" asked Eret. Only his right arm and left were being held in Brightscales's talons, and after the last adventure he'd had in such a state, naturally Eret was desperately clinging to the Deadly Nadder and praying he wouldn't fall.

"A kidnapping," said Aster, cheerfully.

"Yay! Can he ride with me?" begged Ruffnut. She was flying beneath Aster and grabbing Eret's arm as she looked at the dragon trapper longingly. "Can he? _Can he?_ "

Ruffnut's attempts at flirting made Eret's skin crawl and he cringed and shuddered while Tuffnut groaned in disgust and annoyance.

"What is this about, Aster?" demanded Eret. "What do you want?"

"I want Lenora safe from Drago. So, here's what's going to happen, Eret," said Aster. "Either you show us the way to Drago or I let Ruffnut have you."

Ruffnut grinned in excitement. "Really?!"

"No!" said Tuffnut, loudly.

"I agree with Crazy Blondie's brother. You really think I'm going to help dragon riders sneak into Drago's camp after I let your insane fiancée bribe me into giving _her_ Drago's location?" said Eret, incredulously. Eret paled as he thought of what Drago would do when the dragon conqueror found out what Eret had done. It was not a pretty picture. Eret leaned back dramatically. "You might as well just kill me now!"

"That can be arranged," said Aster. He patted the Deadly Nadder's face and Brightscales squawked excitedly. "Brightscales, drop it!"

Eret's eyes widened and once again, he screamed like a little girl as he was released and began falling at alarming rate from a rather disturbing height.

"Good girl!" praised Aster.

Brightscales squawked happily, pleased that she'd made her rider happy.

"Brightscales, fetch!" said Aster.

As commanded, Brightscales dove down and snatched up Eret just as the dragon trapper was yelling out, "Okay! All right! I'll take you to Drago!"

Aster grinned in satisfaction. "Works every time."

Eret just groaned. How did he get mixed up in these situations?

 **XXX**

Feeding time wasn't quite Lenora had expected.

She'd thought they were just going to catch some fish, and they did but not in the way Lenora had imagined. Val and Lenora had left the dragon sanctuary on the backs of Cloudjumper and Toothless, and the two women had baskets slung over their shoulders. But they had no fishing nets or rods, and nor did they attempt to catch their food down below on the ground and if that wasn't enough, every single dragon from the ice cavern followed them.

 _Oh, boy_. Lenora didn't have the slightest idea how she was going to help feed all those dragons. She'd caught fish on a large scale before, but not _that_ big.

"Hey, Mom, what're we doing?" asked Lenora, as they hovered above a section of water between the ice and snow. "I thought we were going to eat."

"Oh, we are," said Val, excitedly. She motioned for Lenora to stay put and then she looked at the sea down below.

Lenora glanced down in curiosity and then her eyes widened as the sea bubbled and rumbled and then with a great and mighty roar, the Bewilderbeast burst out of the water and from his mouth rained more fish than Lenora had ever seen. Then it was every dragon for his or herself as they screeched in excitement and snatched up as many fish as they could.

Toothless' stomach growled and he looked excited as he looked at Lenora for permission. When she nodded, he dove down sharply and then snatched up an entire mouthful of fish while Lenora gathered what she could in her basket.

When they'd collected enough fish, they flew to a small island to eat. Toothless got a fire going, allowing Lenora and Val to cook their food while Toothless and Cloudjumper shared their uncooked catches together.

"So, tell me more about what you've been up to," said Val, as she wiped her mouth. "Have you and Toothless done any traveling?"

"Oh, you have no idea." Lenora took out her map and showed it to Val, who was quite impressed with Lenora's cartography. "When Toothless and I first started exploring, we settled an outpost we call Dragon's Edge. That's where Dad met Skullcrusher. You see…"

Lenora told stories of her travels and the dragons she'd encountered over the last few years. Some of the stories, like the one about the web-footed Speed Stinger and Torch the Typhoomerang made Val smile in pride and others like the ones about the Screaming Death sinking islands and the Deathson that nearly killed her, nearly gave Val a heart attack.

When Lenora had finished her stories, Lenora learned that Val had incredible stories of her own, having explored and seen much of the world and its dragons over the last seventeen years. She told Lenora of dragons she'd encountered and rescued—dragons that Lenora had never even heard of—and of the cultures she'd learned of, and of course all the dragon tricks she'd learned. Val even drew her own map in the snow with her staff.

Toothless, not wanting to be left out, grabbed a giant icicle and drew his own map in the snow. Lenora and Val laughed and smiled at his antics and then they laughed a little harder when Toothless realized the icicle was stuck to his tongue.

They ended up heating up some hot water and pouring it on the Night Fury's tongue to get the icicle off and even then, Toothless' tongue hung out of his mouth for quite a while as it had gone completely numb from the icicle.

Val took Lenora's hand. "Come on, I want to show you and Toothless something. You're going to love this."

Lenora felt excited as she and Toothless followed Val and Cloudjumper to a series of hot pockets of air that made them fly without actually flying. Lenora found herself tightly grasping Toothless' saddle as she floated off it and cheered in delight. Toothless greatly enjoyed it as he loved the heat and it made him feel like he could fly by himself again. And he wasn't the only one who loved it, a lot of the other dragons did too.

Lenora then watched in pride and amazement as Val gracefully walked across Cloudjumper's wings and then climbed down onto a Deadly Nadder, and then onto a Raincutter and then she hooked her staff on a Snafflefang's horn. Val then waited until she was close enough to Toothless before walking across the Night Fury's expanded wings and brushing her hand against Lenora's hair, causing them both to smile before Val slid down Toothless' wing and onto Cloudjumper's back. So many years with dragons had caused Val's actions to be second nature.

Lenora and Val then took to the skies and Val exhaled deeply in contentment. "Oh, when I'm up here, I don't even feel the cold. I just feel—"

"Free," said Lenora, with a knowing look. She knew exactly how Val felt because Lenora felt it everyday when she flew with Toothless. "Sometimes back in Berk, everything gets so crazy that I can hardly breathe, but when I'm out here with Toothless, I feel so invincible and free. It's like nothing else in the world matters and I'm so happy, I can't begin to describe it. Sometimes, I wish I could stay in the air with Toothless forever."

Val nodded and then closed her eyes and extended her arms as the cold wind blew her hair every which way. " _This_ is what it means to be a dragon, Nora.

Lenora grinned as an idea came to her. "It's all well and good to call yourself a dragon, Mom, but can you fly?" She unhooked herself from Toothless and then leapt off Toothless' back before activating her flight suit.

Cloudjumper looked stunned and then gave Toothless a look. " _Shouldn't you be following her?_ "

Toothless, who'd been contentedly flying, was startled. " _Oh, yeah!_ " Quickly, he flew closer to Lenora so he could grab her when she needed him.

"Whoo-hoo!" cried Lenora. She turned onto her back and closed her eyes, loving how excited and free flying in the flight suit made her feel. It wasn't as great as flying on Toothless—nothing could compare to that—but it was so exhilarating to be out there on her own.

Lenora smiled and waved at Val when her mother flew close to her, but when Lenora turned over onto her stomach, her smile was quickly replaced with a panicked look when a giant rock formation came into view.

"Ah, crud. Not again! Toothless!"

Ever the faithful protector, Toothless quickly snatched Lenora out of the air and protectively enfolded her into his wings. They flew through a hole in the rock and landed in a pile of light, fluffy snow that cushioned their fall.

Toothless felt dazed as he lifted his head. " _We've got to work on that! I can't keep crashing like this. Don't you agree, Lenora? Lenora?_ " Toothless began to panic when he lifted his wing and saw that Lenora wasn't under it. Fearing the worst, Toothless began to frantically search for his rider and then he was startled when Lenora burst out of now a few feet away, laughing.

"Man, almost!" said Lenora, excitedly. "We almost had it that time, bud!"

Toothless sneezed, shook the snow from his head and then gave Lenora a look before knocking her down into the snow with his tail.

Val laughed as she and Cloudjumper landed beside them. Val then helped Lenora to stand and dust the snow off before examining Lenora's flight suit in amazement.

"You are absolutely _incredible!_ " said Val.

"Thanks, Mom. You're not too bad yourself," said Lenora, thinking of the gracefulness of Val's steps across the backs of the dragons.

Val placed her hand on Lenora's cheek and Lenora lovingly pressed her cheek into Val's palm before covering Val's hand with her own. This was one of the things Lenora had missed the most over the past seventeen years: feeling her mother's love through a gentle touch upon her skin. Now that she had it again, Lenora didn't know if she could ever live her life without it. And best of all, for Lenora as she spent the quality time with Val, it felt as though they'd never been parted at all.

"All this time, you took after me," said Val, lovingly. Then a sad, regretful look crossed Val's face and her eyes filled with tears. "And where was I? I'm so, so sorry Lenora. Can you ever forgive me?"

"There's nothing to forgive," said Lenora, gently. Lenora wished that Val had passed the test the first time, but Lenora wasn't angry about it, considering the only reason Val had failed was because she'd been trying to help her daughter. Knowing that Val had tried to come home also made a huge difference. And besides that, it was all in the past. "I have wished you were there these past seventeen years and I've missed you so much, but it doesn't matter anymore. We're together now. We found each other again and that's all that really _does_ matter."

Val looked visibly touched by Lenora's words and smiled a little. "I don't deserve you."

"Oh, hush," said Lenora, teasingly. "If anything, _I_ don't deserve _you_." Lenora truly felt as though she didn't deserve someone as spectacular as Val for a mother.

Val chuckled and kissed Lenora's head. "No more sadness. There's something I want to show you. I told you of my dragon tricks and I have one that I know you're going to love. It's just one of the many things you and I can teach each other."

Val walked over to Toothless and pressed two fingers into his spine while rotating them. As she did so, the spikes on Toothless' back separated into two.

"Wow," breathed Lenora, amazed.

"Now you can make those tight turns," said Val.

Toothless gargled excitedly as he made his spikes clap together and then he eagerly showed them off to Lenora.

" _Lookie! Lookie! Isn't it amazing?_ " he crooned.

"It's beyond amazing, bud," said Lenora, as she rubbed his ears. "Did you know you could do that, Toothless?"

" _I knew it was possible, but I never knew how to do it,_ " said Toothless, excitedly. " _Just think of how much easier it'll be to fly and all things we can do now!_ "

Lenora chuckled as she imagined what she and Toothless could do now—crash less, certainly. "I can't wait, buddy."

"Every dragon has its secrets and I'll show all the ones that I've learned, just as you'll show me what you've learned," said Val. "We'll unlock every mystery, find every last species as mother and daughter as we should've been doing all along."

Val wrapped an arm around Lenora's shoulder as they watched Toothless play in the snow.

Toothless dived into the snow and crawled under it for a few moments before bursting out next to Cloudjumper, causing a large clump of snow to be dumped onto the Stormcutter's head. Cloudjumper tilted his head, dumping the snow onto Toothless, who shook it off himself and even ate some of it before begging Cloudjumper to play with him. Cloudjumper, who'd been acting as though he were a parent and Toothless a hatchling the entire time, gave in and they began having a makeshift snowball fight by tossing snow at each other with their tails.

Lenora and Val laughed at their dragons' antics before Lenora looked up at her mother, who had started talking to her again.

"This gift we share, my sweet light, it bonds us. This is who you are," said Val. "Who _we_ are. Even after you become Chieftess, you and I will change the world for all dragons and humans. We'll make it a better, safer place."

Lenora's face lit up as she imagined a utopia, not just in Berk, but everywhere in world—dragons and humans living in harmony as one, protecting and caring for one another. It was something she wanted desperately as she longed to share her gift and bond with Toothless with everyone she could. It was a worthy, noble pursuit.

"That sounds amazing," said Lenora.

Val let out a tiny squeal of delight as she tightly embraced Lenora.

Lenora returned the embrace and buried her face in her mother's hair as she breathed in Val's scent. It hadn't changed much. Safe in Val's arms, Lenora felt a wave of nostalgia and thought back to the early years of her life when she'd had a full family and her only worries had been whether it was warm enough to play outside with her parents gleefully chasing after her.

Lenora wanted to stay that way forever, but then she remembered the problems she was facing. She remembered Drago, the threat he posed not just to Berk but to the entire world and what she had to do to stop him. During all the fun she'd had, reuniting with Val and spending quality time with her, Lenora had quite forgotten everything else. But now it came back like a stampeding herd of Rumblehorns. Lenora's face fell as she pulled away from Val.

"But I can't, Mom. My wedding and ascension to Chieftess plans aside, I have to stop Drago. And if my plan works, then…" Lenora's voice trailed off as she realized that Val didn't know about Drago.

Val became worried. "Stop Drago? Sweetheart, is there something you haven't told me?"

Lenora sighed and filled Val in on her past with Drago, the threat he posed now and Lenora's own plans to deal with him. As Lenora predicted, Val didn't take the news well.

"No! Absolutely not!" said Val, sternly. "I'm not going to let you sacrifice yourself to that monster! You're the most amazing dragon rider I've ever seen, but Drago's strength and madness has grown since you saw him last. You'll get killed!"

Lenora knew that Val just being protective and acting out of love, but nevertheless, Lenora fought to keep control over her temper and speak calmly. Why was she having this conversation yet again? It was going to end the same way.

"Mom…I have to try," she said, quietly. "If I can save Berk from war, save all those lives…isn't it worth the risk? I have to protect my own—both humans and dragons are my own—and the best way to do that is go up against Drago alone. If he won't listen to me, then I'll do what has to be done to stop him. He's coming for me and he's not going to stop until he gets what he wants. I can't just sit back and let that happen and I can't lose someone I care about again. It's my job to protect my own as a dragon rider and the future Chieftess of Berk!"

"And what do you think is the job of the dragons and the people of Berk?" challenged Val. "One's duty to protect their own isn't one-sided. It goes both ways. How do you imagine Stoick, Aster, Toothless or I will feel if you get killed? If the situation was reversed, would you let any of them go off to face Drago alone?"

Val raised a good point and Lenora was forced to concede. Lenora had been so determined to save Berk from Drago regardless of the consequences that she hadn't even _considered_ the consequences. If Lenora's plans went south, Berk would lose its rightful heir, Toothless would have no rider; Lenora's parents would be childless—something no parent should ever have to endure—Gobber would devastated and Aster would be left heartbroken and destroyed. And if the situation were reversed, never in a million years, would Lenora have allowed someone she cared about to face Drago alone, so what right had she to ask the same of her loved ones? Lenora felt a pang of guilt at the thought of her stubborn, thoughtless behavior.

"You're right," said Lenora, sighing again. "And I'm sorry for being so reckless. But it doesn't change the face that Drago's still after me and he's going to destroy Berk. I have to stop him."

"And you will. But you won't do it alone. We'll do it together," said Val, gently.

Lenora suddenly felt scared for her mother's life. "Mom—"

"No! I lost seventeen years with you, Lenora. I will not lose you again," said Val, firmly. "Drago will be dealt with, but when that happens, I'm going to be with you. But it certainly won't be tonight. It's getting dark and after sundown, it's far too cold for safe travel. We will discuss this further in the morning after a good night's sleep, I promise."

Normally, Lenora disliked being scolded and told what to do, but coming from Val, it felt oddly good. Plus, Lenora had to admit, she _was_ getting pretty tired and could use a good night's sleep.

"All right. You win." _For now,_ she silently added. Lenora didn't know what she would do in the morning, but she couldn't promise she was going to stay put, not with the way she felt.

Val relaxed and then they went back to the ice cavern.

When they were home, Val took Lenora to the room she shared with Cloudjumper. The dragons warmed up the room with their fire-breath and then Val loaned Lenora some comfortable spare bed clothes to sleep in. After Lenora had changed, she and Val braided each other's hair, just like they used to when Lenora was younger. It felt so nice to be able to do one of their old bedtime routines.

Toothless snuggled up with Cloudjumper and then lifted his wing while beckoning for Lenora to join him. Lenora curled up on Toothless' side and snuggled close to her old friend. She was asleep the moment she rested her head against him. It may have seemed odd, but Toothless really did make the perfect bed. And instead of curling up on Cloudjumper, Val also slept against Toothless and wrapped a protective arm around Lenora.

Gently, Val tucked a loose strand of Lenora's hair behind her ear and then kissed her daughter's cheek. "Pleasant dreams, my sweet light. I love you."

"Love you too, Mama," murmured Lenora, in her sleep.

Val just smiled and then joined Lenora in a peaceful slumber.

 **XXX**

Meanwhile, Eret was making good on his bargain with Aster.

Rather unwillingly, Eret had directed them to a hidden cavern covered in ice and snow. It had been Drago's base of operations for the past eight years. It was quite clever when one thought of it, as who looked for a hideout in a mountain of ice and rock?

When they arrived, Eret was finally released from Brightscales's talons and dropped into a pile of snow. But when the dragon trapper tried to stand and run for it, Brightscales sat down on Eret as a mother bird or dragon did with her eggs.

Eret spat snow out of his mouth and glared at Aster. "Okay, I got you here! Now get this thing off me, will you?"

Aster grinned as he shook his head. He was enjoying this, perhaps just a little too much. "Never take a toy from a dragon. Don't you know _anything?_ "

Eret yelped at being called a dragon's toy, and then groaned as Brightscales settled down and enfolded Eret in her wings as she would with one of her hatchlings.

With Eret safely secured, Aster and the others crept up the hill and then crouched down out of sight as they gazed down below. There were dozens of armed ships in the water, dangerous dragons chained up and in armor, dragon traps were everywhere along with countless armed men, and in the center of it all the sea was bubbling and rumbling. Something was down there, but what, Aster had no idea.

"Fishlegs, what's down there?" whispered Aster.

Fishlegs got out his notebook, which he used for storing information on dragons and quickly skimmed through it. "Large diameter bubbles…massive lungs…cold water deep-dweller…" Fishlegs looked more and more scared with each word he spoke. "I'm thinking a Class Five Leviathan, maybe a Class Six."

"Not good," said Aster. Granted, they'd beaten far worse odds, but the situation still unsettled him. Aster's brow wrinkled with worry when he saw that there was no sign of Lenora or Toothless or even Gobber and Stoick and their dragons. "I don't see Lenora or the others. I don't even see Drago. Where are they?"

Before anyone could reply, Brightscales let out a panicked squawk and took off. Suddenly, they found themselves surrounded by Drago's men, who tranquilized their dragons and took them all prisoner, despite their efforts to fight back.

Everyone except for Eret was taken to Drago's ship in chains. Drago was standing on the bow of his ship, looking over the bubbling and rumbling section water with narrowed eyes.

"Drago!" said Eret, with forced enthusiasm. "Always great to see you, my friend. Been keeping warm up here, have you?"

At the sound of Eret's voice, Dragon let out a deep grumble and then slowly walked towards Eret and the prisoners. Much had occurred for him over the last eight years. In the process of regaining his strength and further strengthening his armies and power, Drago had gotten stronger, fiercer, and even crazier and more power-hungry. He was also more heavily scarred and the sight of him sent chills down the spines of all those who first looked upon him.

Drago's dragons bowed in fear as he walked past them. He paid them little mind.

"Well, as you can see, I am right on time with a new batch of dragons, just like I promised," said Eret, as he pointed to Firewyrm.

Aster watched in horror and disgust as Firewyrm woke up and tried to break free, only for Drago to dominate the Monstrous Nightmare in a cruel, barbaric way.

While Drago's men struggled to control Firewyrm with ropes, Drago just smirked. "Drop the ropes!" When they did so, Drago walked towards Firewyrm. When she hissed, he growled and when Firewyrm unleashed her fire-breath upon Drago, Drago covered himself with his dragon-skin cloak, which fully protected him from the flames. When Firewyrm ran out of fire and screeched at Drago, he grabbed his spear and roared so loudly and in such a manner that Firewyrm became quiet and looked afraid as she bowed her head in submission.

"You belong to me, now," said Drago, smugly.

"Leave my dragon alone, you son of a bilge rat!" yelled Snotlout, angrily. He wasn't the only one protesting in outrage at Drago's cruelty, the others were too.

"And as an added bonus, I also brought you their riders and sent your Angel Light and her dragon ahead of them at no extra charge," said Eret, sweetly.

Furious, Aster swung his leg up and kicked Eret's backside painfully. "You greedy, traitorous piece of filth!" he hissed. "I hope you get thrown to the man-eating eels!"

"Aww!" moaned Ruffnut. "But you were so perfect!"

"Ow," moaned Eret, as he rubbed the place Aster had kicked. He quickly regained his posture, not noticing that Drago's eyes had narrowed and became cold as ice at the mention of Lenora. "It turns out there's a whole bunch of them out there. They attacked—"

Eret was cut off when Drago grabbed him by the throat and hoisted him up into the air. "Lenora?" he hissed. "You sent my Lenora here _alone_ and she's a dragon rider? She's betrayed me? Why didn't you escort her here, you fool? There was a blizzard last night and it could have _killed_ her!"

"Lenora is not yours, you son of a half-troll, rat-eating munge bucket!" snarled Aster. His blue eyes were blazing with anger. "Lenora doesn't belong to anyone, least of all you! And you're a fine one to talk about betrayal after what you did to her! I know your story, Drago! Lenora saved your life, she was kind and would've been your friend and instead you _used_ her, _manipulated_ her and then you _betrayed_ her!"

Drago hadn't even known of the meeting between the tribe leaders until Lenora told him. The only reason he'd gotten the information he had was because he'd manipulated and used Lenora for his own insane agenda by gaining her trust and lying to her.

Drago dropped Eret to the ground and gazed at Aster. "What would _you_ know of my Angel Light? Who are you?"

"My name is Aster Hofferson of Berk. And I know a lot more than you do. Lenora is my fiancée," said Aster. "And least I have the decency to treat her with respect and love and I'd sooner die than betray her, no matter what it cost me."

Drago didn't get angry as expected. Instead, he thrust his head back and laughed. "You?" he said, incredulously. " _You're_ Aster? The one that my Angel Light claimed to love? You're pathetic! You have no armies, no real power, you are a mere peasant!"

"And yet she still chose me over you," sneered Aster. He thrust out his neck, causing his betrothal necklace to dangle in front of Drago. "We're getting married and we're going to become Chief and Chieftess of Berk! She's doing that _without you_ , and doesn't that tick you off?"

Drago growled in anger. He was furious. "Lenora's judgement is clearly clouded! Why would she care for you when she has _me?_ "

"Oh, maybe because Aster's not a murdering lunatic and Lenora didn't spend eight years thinking he was dead as a doornail?" said Snotlout, sarcastically. "My cousin has better taste in men than that. Honestly, letting her think you were dead? How is _that_ going to win her over?"

"I had no choice!" said Drago. "Leaving Lenora destroyed me, but I disappeared so that I could have a chance to make myself better for her! Now, she will have no choice but to accept me and forsake the delusion of love she has for this pathetic creature!" Drago scowled deeply at Aster. "And so what if I did kill her wretched father? He deserved to burn for all the pain he caused my Angel Light!"

"Well, karma's a kick in the pants, Drago, because guess what? We're not Berk's only dragon riders!" said Aster, thinking quickly. Lenora wasn't here, which meant she was safe and there was still time. If this worked, maybe Aster could get everyone free. "Everyone on Berk is and they know we're missing! They have tracker dragons!"

"I wouldn't worry about it," said Eret, weakly. "My men are hunting them down as we speak. They won't know where you're hiding, except for Lenora. I gave her the map—OUCH!" Eret was silenced when he received a boot to the head from Drago.

"Tell me more about Lenora and her dragon," growled Drago. He was becoming interested in finding out what had become of Lenora since their parting.

"Oh, where do I begin? As the only daughter of Stoick the Vast and heiress to the throne of Berk, she has command over Berk's entire armada _and_ she's the greatest Dragon Master that this world has ever seen!" said Aster, smugly.

Drago frowned. "' _Dragon Master_ '?" he repeated, in disbelief. " _My_ Angel Light?" Drago laughed. "Impossible! I, alone, control the dragons!"

Snotlout, Fishlegs and the twins disagreed and laughed. They knew the true Dragon Master and it wasn't Drago Bludvist. It was Lenora.

"Nope! Nuh-uh!" said Tuffnut, shaking his head.

"No way!" said Snotlout.

"Sorry, but no," said Fishlegs.

"Forget it!" said Ruffnut.

Aster quickly shot them a grateful look before turning back to Drago. "Lenora _is_ the true Dragon Master! She ended the Great War when she vanquished Red Death, she rides the only Night Fury left in existence, and everyone who's gone up against her has been soundly defeated. Lenora's coming for you, Drago, and when she gets here and finds out you've got us captured, Lenora and her Night Fury are going to blast your entire armada to splinters!"

"Then they'll be crying like babies," jeered Ruffnut, as Fishlegs and Snotlout laughed.

Drago nearly popped a vein and he grabbed Eret by the throat again. "First, there was _one_ dragon rider, and now all of Berk? My Angel Light is riding the only dragon I have yet to conquer, she's chosen another in her foolishness, and you sent here _alone_ without any thought for her safety? And worse yet, you led all of Berk right to me?!"

Eret tried to reply, but he couldn't as he was turning blue from lack of oxygen and then he was tossed across the dock like a skipping stone. Eret looked pleadingly at his employer. "Drago—!"

"STOP ALL PREPARATIONS!" roared Drago. "We must attack the dragon riders' nest at once! We will take down their Alpha dragon! And if my Angel Light does not do what is right, then we will take all of Berk!"

Aster exchanged appalled glances with the others. Oh, what had he done? Why couldn't he have kept his mouth shut? Now the situation was worse than ever.

"Drago, please!" begged Eret.

"And get rid of _him!_ " said Drago, sound bored. "He's outlived his usefulness."

Eret looked scared and regretful as Dragon's men turned their blades on them. Eret was wishing he'd taken Lenora's advice about Drago. He was about to be killed when suddenly, Brightscales appeared and deflected the weapons, saving Eret's life. Brightscales did her best to protect Eret and the others before she was tranquilized like the others.

"Brightscales, no!" cried Aster, distraught.

Eret rose up, clearly stunned by what had just happened. Lenora's words about earning a dragon's trust and loyalty rang in his ears and he realized the truth in her words as he was bound and dragged away with Aster and the others.

 **XXX**

The following day, Lenora sat overlooking the grand view of the ice cavern while Toothless napped beside her.

Lenora had had a good night's sleep and she was a lot calmer than she had been since the whole Drago business began. She'd spent most of the morning teaching Val dragonese and her mother had picked up on it rather quickly. Val was thrilled at being able to better understand dragons and in return, Val had taught Lenora the best techniques to massage a dragon when they were sore and tired. It had worked wonders on Toothless.

Now, Val was preparing their lunch and Lenora was enjoying a little peace and quiet. Well, as much as she could with the hatchlings running all over the place and disturbing Toothless' nap by crawling all over him and trying to chew on him and his tail with their toothless gums. (The hatchlings' teeth hadn't grown in quite yet.) And Lenora was still worried about Dragon.

"Bud, I think we should talk to my mom and head out," said Lenora, as she rose up. As much as she loved the Bewilderbeast's home, she knew she still had a threat to deal with. "We can't wait around for Drago to find and attack this place. Want to go?"

" _Yes! Right now, in fact!_ " grumbled Toothless, as he shook the hatchlings off him. He held up his tail and looked disapprovingly at a yellow hatchling that was biting his tail. " _My tail is not a chew toy! Now get off of me! Your friends are leaving without you._ "

" _Okay, Toothless,_ " said the hatchling. It let go of Toothless and then scampered off to find its nest mates and friends.

Toothless shook his head at the hatchlings. " _Hatchlings!_ "

Lenora laughed. "Oh, like you were any different when you were a—umph!" Lenora was cut off when someone grabbed her mouth from behind. Instinctively, she reached for her knife and was about to strike and Toothless became defensive, but then a voice hissed, "Shh! Nora, it's me!"

Lenora's eyes widened and then when she was released, she stared in disbelief at Stoick. " _Dad?!_ You scared me half to death!" She sheathed her knife. "What in the—how did you— _what_ are you doing here?"

"We're rescuing you, of course!" said Gobber, appearing in the entrance of the tunnel. "The cost is clear, by the way! No sign of Drago." Gobber then took off to make sure of it.

"You're in so much trouble, by the way. But it can wait," said Stoick. He did a quick check on Lenora. "Are you hurt? Did Drago do anything to you?"

"What? Drago?" Lenora was confused and then it hit her. "No, Dad, I'm fine. Drago hasn't done anything. He's not here. This isn't even Drago's hideout!"

Stoick immediately relaxed. "It's not?"

"No!" said Lenora, exasperated. "I haven't even been to Drago's yet! Toothless and I got caught in a blizzard and were rescued by the dragon rider who lives here. We've been recuperating here."

Stoick heaved a sigh of relief and then looked curious. "What dragon rider?"

"Uh…" _Oh, man this is going to be harder than I thought._ Lenora guessed there would be one of three outcomes when she explained things. One, Stoick would think Lenora crazy and drag her off. Two, Stoick would have a heart attack and die from the shock. Or three, Stoick would believe her and then they'd all live happily ever after. Lenora seriously doubted the third option would happen. "Dad, before I tell you, do you remember those stories Grandpa told us about those who bargained the gods in order to return to life?"

Stoick nodded. "What about them?"

 _Okay, Lenora, out with it._ "Well, I know this going to sound insane and believe me, I didn't believe it at first, but I swear I'm not lying or crazy. The stories aren't just stories, Dad. They're true, and I know it's a lot to take in, but there's someone here who's been waiting a long time for me to cross her path so she could come home to us. She's _really_ anxious to be with us again. Just be gentle and take it slowly, okay?" Lenora blurted out. "Take my hand and follow me. Toothless, go and tell our host what's happening, will you?"

Toothless nodded and then bounded off in search of Val.

Stoick looked puzzled but oddly enough, he didn't question Lenora as she took his hand led him through the tunnels and to the cavern where Val was waiting. Gobber had gotten there first and it was clear he'd had a shock as he was out cold from fainting and was being frantically licked by Bonehead to wake him up.

"Okay, this is it," said Lenora, when they reached the cave's entrance. "Dad, before you go in, promise me you'll listen to what she has to say."

Lenora knew it would break Val's heart if Stoick reacted the same way Lenora had earlier and Lenora couldn't bear to cause her mother so much distress.

"I promise," said Stoick.

"Okay then. Let's go." Lenora tugged on Stoick's hand and led him inside.

Once inside, Stoick gasped as he saw his beloved wife, standing in between Cloudjumper and Toothless, looking both happy and afraid.

Stoick's jaw dropped and he was silent as he took off his helmet and began walking towards Val.

Mistaking Stoick's silence for a negative reaction, Val's eyes filled with tears and she began babbling in a panicked tone.

"I know what you're going to say, Stoick," she said, her voice raw with emotion. "How can I be back? Am I a ghost? If I'm real, how could I have stayed away for seventeen years? Why didn't I come back to you, to our daughter? Well, I had no choice! I wanted to come back, but I couldn't, not until Lenora crossed my path with Toothless. And even then, I was afraid of what I'd be coming back to, a world of kill dragons or be killed by dragons! Cloudjumper saved all three of us one night and I wanted to tell you what I learned, I really did! But how could I? What sign did I have that you or anyone else on Berk were ever going to change? I mean, neither you nor anyone else ever listened no matter how many times I pleaded with you to find another way other than fighting and violence!"

Gobber, who'd woken up and was now witnessing the reunion of his best friend and wife, whispered to Lenora, "This is why I never married."

Lenora smacked Gobber's shoulder and held a finger to her lips, signaling Gobber to be quiet.

Stoick had yet to speak. He just kept gazing at Val as if she were a dream.

"I know that I left you to raise Lenora alone, Stoick," continued Val, as tears slid down her cheek. "And there's not a day that I haven't regretted that. Do you know how much it hurts knowing I missed seventeen years of her life? Or how much it hurts knowing that I couldn't keep my promise to stay by your side forever and lead Berk? If I could've come home sooner, I would have! Oh!" As Stoick stepped closer, Val stepped backwards and then found herself trapped between her husband, two dragons and a wall of ice. "Stop being so stoic, Stoick! Go on, shout, scream—say something!"

Stoick's silence was hurting far worse than any harsh words he could've spoken.

Stoick gently cupped Val's face in his hands and wiped away her tears with the pads of his thumbs before he whispered, "You're as beautiful as the day I lost you."

Lenora smiled through happy tears of her own as she watched her parents share a tender, loving kiss and then a tight embrace for the first time in seventeen years. It was a dream come true and Lenora never wanted it to end.

 **XXX**

Drago's armada headed to the home of the masked dragon rider.

Drago was keeping himself occupied by banging on the chains that were attached to his secret weapon, which was pulling his command ships to their intended destination. He was too focused on his plans for Lenora and his plans for vengeance and that was why he didn't oversee the execution of the prisoners himself.

A small band of Drago's men were forcing Aster and the others to walk the plank. If the freezing cold water didn't kill them, then whatever creatures lurking beneath the waves would.

"Could this day get any worse?" whined Snotlout.

"Uhh…let me think," said Tuffnut, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "We're about to jump into freezing cold water and die from drowning. Nope. I'd say it couldn't get any worse."

Eret leaned over the plank and looked at the water. "Looks refreshing." He smiled at Aster. "Please, do go first, Aster."

Aster glared at Eret. "When I get ahold of you, I'm going to throttle you, you sad, sorry sack of dragon—"

"Duck!" interrupted Eret.

Aster looked confused but ducked down when Eret suddenly did a spinning kick that knocked two of Drago's men overboard. The men's spears went flying, but Eret caught them and used them to cut his bonds. Once free, he swiftly defeated the remainders of Drago's men and then freed Aster and the others of their bonds.

"Well, that was an unexpected surprise," said Aster, as he rubbed his wrists. "Not an unwelcome one, though. What changed your mind?"

"Well, let's just say that your crazy fiancée and that Nadder of yours knocked some sense into me," said Eret, smiling. Thanks to Lenora and Aster's dragon, Eret had seen the error of his ways. Eret held out his hand for Aster to take. "I'm so sorry about the past, I truly am. What do you say we start over?"

Aster gave Eret a suspicious look as if he was trying to catch the man in a lie, but then he smiled and shook Eret's hand. "Clean slate. Now, let's save our dragons and get out of here. Lenora needs us if she's going to stop Drago."

Eret nodded and then they split up to search Drago's traps for their dragons. It wasn't long before Eret found Brightscales, all tied up and looking miserable. She looked curious and even happy at the sight of Eret.

Remembering what he'd seen from Lenora, Eret slowly and carefully approached Brightscales as he held out his hand.

"Thank you for saving my life," he murmured. Brightscales purred as she placed her snout against Eret's palm. "Now, it's my turn to save yours."

 **XXX**

Back at the ice cavern, Lenora was helping with the lunch preparations.

Once Val had retold the story of her return, they'd decided to eat and talk more before making any further decisions, either about returning to Berk or about Drago. Gobber had gotten over his initial shock and was happy to have Val back. Stoick's happiness was even greater as he had yet to cease smiling or take his loving gaze off his wife.

But happy as Val was to have her husband and daughter's godfather back in her life, Val was also feeling shy and nervous. She kept dropping things and barely said a word.

In an effort to lift Val's spirits, Lenora couldn't stop talking about the wonderful and exciting changes in Berk.

"I'm telling you, Mom, you'd never even recognize it," she said, as she divided fish between Cloudjumper and Toothless, who eagerly tore into it. "Where we used to make weapons, we now build saddles, wing slings, prosthetics, and we even fix dragon teeth. We even had dragon races every year. It's so much fun. You'd love it. You wouldn't believe how much everything's changed."

Stoick nodded proudly. "Our daughter's changed Berk for the better. I think we did really well with this one, Val."

"Thanks, Daddy," said Lenora. She smiled as she took a plate of fish for Gobber.

Val couldn't help but smile at Lenora. "Our baby's grown into such a remarkable young woman. I can scarcely believe it. Seems only yesterday, she was a wee lass. Oh, Thor, Lenora takes so much after me, but I see part of you in her, Stoick. Your stubbornness, your courage…you did a good job looking after her."

Stoick's face became sad and his eyes dull with regret and guilt. "I haven't always done such a good job." He thought back to the years after Val's death, the time before Lenora had changed Berk for the better, how estranged he and Lenora had been. How hard it had been for Stoick to accept how different Lenora was. Stoick had always been Lenora's hero because he loved her, protected her and was there when she needed it, but it had taken a near-death experience just to get Stoick to learn to listen when Lenora desperately needed a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on. "I've made mistakes, Val."

"Every parents makes mistakes. We're not perfect. In the end, all you can do is your best. You did as you promised. You took care of our daughter," said Val. "Lenora is what she is today because of you, Stoick."

Stoick smiled at this. "Well, I think you and Toothless might've had something to do with it."

Val chuckled but when Stoick gently touched her shoulders from behind, she tensed and dropped the plate of fish she'd been holding.

"I'm sorry, I'm a bit out of practice," said Val, apologetically. She looked embarrassed.

Stoick just chuckled as Toothless quickly cleaned up the mess and shared it with Cloudjumper. "Well, I didn't marry you for your cooking." It was just a little joke. Val's cooking skills used to be some of the best in Berk. It was where Lenora had learned her own culinary skills.

Val smiled a little but said nothing.

"And once you've moved back in with all your dragons, old Drago won't stand a chance no matter what Eret said about him," said Lenora. For the first time since the whole situation began, Lenora was feeling more optimistic. "Everything's going to be okay."

Stoick chuckled and placed a hand on Lenora's shoulder as Val went to fill her water jug with the clear, glacier water that flowed in from the ceiling.

"Slow down, Nora. It's a lot to take in," he said.

"What? Oh," said Lenora, in realization. She nodded at her father. "Got'cha." Deciding to let Stoick handle it, Lenora took a plate of food for herself and sat down with Gobber and the two dragons next to the fire.

Stoick began whistling a familiar tune that Lenora hadn't heard since Val's death all those years ago and it brought back wonderful memories. Gobber looked excited and nudged Lenora as they watched Lenora's parents. Judging from the way Val was holding herself, it was having the same effect on the older woman.

"Do you remember our song, Val?" asked Stoick, quietly as he took the water jug from her and placed it on a stone slab.

 _I'll swim and sail on savage seas  
With ne'er a fear of drowning  
And gladly ride the waves of life  
If you would marry me_

Stoick caressed Val's face with the gentlest of touches, causing her eyes to meet his own before she looked away again. But Stoick didn't give up.

 _No scorching sun nor freezing cold  
Will stop me on my journey  
If you will promise me your heart_

Stoick took his wife's hand in his own and gave it a loving squeeze before holding it up to his chest. But when Val's eyes remained closed and she remained hunched over and silent, Stoick looked sad and released Val's hand. Taking her silence as a rejection, he turned away. But then Val began to softly sing and her voice became louder and more confident with each note.

 _And love…  
And love me for eternity  
My dearest one, my darling dear  
Your mighty words astound me  
But I've no need for mighty deeds  
When I feel your arms around me_

Overjoyed, Stoick began to dance with Val. They placed their left hand against each other's and then their right ones, and then Stoick laughed as they crisscrossed their arms and did a series of impressive dance steps together and kept singing. Stoick knelt down and then Val did a little leap around the back of him and then he held her close.

 _But I would bring you rings of gold  
I'd even sing you poetry  
And I would keep you from all harm  
If you would stay beside me_

Stoick and Val held each other's hands and went this way and that before Stoick held Val close and twirled her around in his arms. They then spun around together and the smiles on their faces continued to widen and their laughter increased in volume. It touched Lenora's heart to see her parents so happy.

 _I have no use for rings of gold  
I care not for your poetry  
I only want your hand to hold_

 _I only want you near me_

Lenora let out a startled yelp when Gobber, who'd started dancing to the music, grabbed Lenora with his good arm and then they started dancing together. As the four of them happily danced and sang together, Lenora laughed and felt as though she was a little girl again, carefree and merry beyond words. She wished it could last forever.

 _To love and kiss to sweetly hold  
For the dancing and the dreaming  
Through all life's sorrows  
And delights  
I'll keep your laugh inside me  
I'll swim and sail on savage seas  
With never a fear of drowning  
I'd gladly ride the waves so white  
And you will marry me!  
_

Stoick lifted Val off the ground once more as their dance finished.

Gobber continued holding the last note and was singing so terribly that Toothless was frantically rubbing his front paws over his ears to try and block out the noise and begging Lenora to make it stop. Thankfully, Gobber ceased singing when Lenora asked him to, politely.

Stoick and Val laughed as they held each other close and when they broke apart, they were looking each other lovingly.

"I thought I'd have to die before we'd have that dance again," said Stoick.

"No need for drastic measures," teased Val.

Stoick laughed again. "For you, my dear—" Stoick got down on one knee and held Val's hands in his own. "—anything. Will you come home, Val? Will you renew our wedding vows and be my wife once again?"

Before Val could reply, Toothless came up behind her and "accidentally" nudged her into Stoick's arms. It was his way of telling Val to say yes to Stoick's proposal. Toothless wanted Val in his adopted family again as he'd grown very fond of Val and he loved how happy she made Lenora and Stoick.

Val laughed at Toothless and gently rubbed his head, as did Stoick and Lenora, who came up to her parents.

"We can be a family again," said Stoick, as he placed a hand on Lenora's shoulder and pulled her in close. "What do you say?"

Val was crying and laughing as she nodded. "Yes. Yes!"

Gobber then joined in. "Great! I'll do the cooking!"

Everyone laughed at this as they broke apart from the group hug.

"Thank Odin you didn't listen to me, Nora. We never would've found each other," said Stoick.

"Hey, I do listen to on occasion," said Lenora, teasingly. But nevertheless, she was glad she'd listened to her own heart, for it had led to her family being reunited.

But the joyful moment quickly ended when the sound of dragons calling and flying quickly in distress and Toothless becoming tense and defensive made Lenora's blood ran cold. Immediately, she knew what was happening.

"Guys, he's here," said Lenora, as her throat tightened. Her heart was pounding. "Drago's here. He's finally found us." _Odin help us all._


	7. Confronting Drago

**Confronting Drago**

The Bewilderbeast's home was under attack.

Armed men were swarming it and cannons were going off, causing enormous chunks of the spiked ice to shatter and fall.

When Lenora and her family ran outside to see who it was that dared to attack the great Alpha's home, Lenora's worst fears were confirmed when she saw Drago's trademark on the attacking ships and the man himself leading an army of men and dragons into battle against the Bewilderbeast's home.

Val looked devastated and then she became determined as she stormed back inside to don her gear and prepare the Bewilderbeast and other dragons for battle.

"Val," said Stoick, quickly, not liking the look on her face. He grabbed his wife's hand. "Val! It's all right. We're a team now. What do you need us to do?"

"We have to protect the dragons," said Val, fiercely.

"Aye, you've got it! Come on, Lenora, Gobber!" said Stoick.

Lenora nodded and with that, the four of them readied themselves for battle.

As they did this, the battle outside raged on. Dragons from the Bewilderbeast's home defended their nest by breathing their fire-breath and snatching up the armed men in the claws. They also fought Drago's armored dragons in fierce wrestling matches and fought against the nets that were fired at them from Drago's giant crossbows.

"Whatever comes, keep hitting the mountain!" commanded Drago. "We need to draw the Alpha out of hiding! Ready the traps!"

As Drago's men obeyed and continued to try and storm the ice fortress, more dragons descended and attacked them within an inch of their lives. Then Drago's dragon traps were readied. As dragons tried to rescue their fellow beasts trapped inside, they themselves were trapped. But then suddenly, one trap began to spew out Hideous Zippleback gas and then it exploded, freeing the dragons that were inside of it.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut emerged from it, cackling and then the other dragon riders came out of hiding and joined in the battle.

Drago was furious. " _WHAT?!_ "

Somehow, Eret managed to _not_ squeal like a little girl as he struggled to stay on Brightscales's back with Aster's help. But thankfully, it wasn't long before he got the hang of it and became comfortable with flying on the dragon's back.

"You really are full of surprises, old friend," said Aster.

"Thanks, pal," said Eret.

Aster smiled and then resumed leading everyone, as he usually did in Lenora's absence. "Now, let's go! Everyone fire on my command! Three…two…one… _now!_ "

Upon Aster's signal, the dragon riders unleashed all manner of mayhem and destruction upon Drago and his forces. Trapped dragons became freed when Smoke spout out a long stream of gas which Sparks then ignited, causing a great deal of chaos. Firewyrm set Drago's catapults and giant crossbows aflame with relish. Puffskin spout out hot lava at the dragon traps and anything else she could hit. And Brightscales flung her deadly spikes at anything that moved.

"Cut them down!" roared Drago.

Snares were flung at Aster and the others, but they were too quick for the weapons.

"Brightscales, lean left!" said Aster, as they narrowly dodged chunks of ice that were broken from the cannon fire. "Watch out!"

They were nearly hit but then one of Toothless' famous never-ever-misses shots hit the spiky ice and blew it to bits, saving them.

Aster felt a wave of relief as Lenora came into view on Toothless' back along with Stoick and Gobber on their respective dragons along with an impossible rider—Lenora's mother.

There was a sharp whistling sound as Lenora and Toothless did a sharp turn and dive before blasting more of Drago's weapons into splinters. Gobber was there to watch Lenora's back as Bonehead blew blazing hot fire at everything he could see and knocked out several of Drago's men with his heavily armored tail.

"Welcome aboard, dragon rider," said Lenora, to Eret as she flew beside Aster. "Decided to take my advice, I see. Good for you."

Eret blushed and nodded under Lenora's praise.

"Beautiful, glad as I am to see you, I've got to know…where the heck have you been?" asked Aster.

"Oh, you know. Just catching up with Mom,' said Lenora, casually.

Aster glanced up and watched in amazement as the Bewilderbeast came up from behind Val and she commanded the mighty beast and all the other dragons that resided with her.

"Holy crap," he exclaimed. "The stories are true? That's incredible!"

Lenora smiled as she shrugged. "Well, now you know where I get my dramatic flair, Handsome!"

"Great Odin's ghost!" exclaimed Snotlout, who'd gone white as snow. "Aunt Valka's _alive?!_ How?!"

"Long story. Tell you later!" said Lenora, as she rejoined the battle.

The Bewilderbeast did not take kindly to his home being threatened. He let out a mighty roar and then breathed enormous shoots of ice at Drago's men. The battle continued to rage on as Hideous Zipplebacks rolled themselves into balls after igniting their gas, causing gigantic balls of fire that scattered Drago's men and destroyed many of the traps before they themselves were trapped.

"Come on, Toothless, show them what you've got, bud," said Lenora.

" _You've got it_ ," said Toothless.

Quickly, Toothless swooped down and fired at the traps containing the Zipplebacks, freeing them.

"Attaboy!" praised Lenora.

Then the battle took a turn for the worst for their side when Cloudjumper was trapped in a net. He collapsed to the ground and Val was knocked off his back. Quickly, Val regained her footing and took a fighting stance as Drago laughed evilly at her.

"I've waited a long time for this!" said Drago.

"You cannot take our dragons!" snarled Val, as she met the blows of his spear with her staff and then kicked him. "They're controlled by the Alpha!"

Drago gave Val a smug look. "Then it's a good thing I brought a challenger!" And with that, Drago roared and waved his spear around.

From up above on Toothless, Lenora gasped in horror as she witnessed a second Bewilderbeast, black and grey with giant shackles on his tusks, emerge from the sea near Drago's boats.

 _That's the powerful dragon Eret was referring to. Oh, no._ If Drago's Bewilderbeast defeated Val's, then there was nothing stopping Drago from stealing the dragons and all would be truly lost. Lenora silently prayed that the white Bewilderbeast would defeat the black one.

"No…no… _no!_ " cried Val, horrified.

"Come on!" commanded Drago, as he turned his back to Val. "Take down the Alpha!"

Val quickly got over her shock and began hitting Drago from behind with her staff. But Drago just knocked her down as easily as one would swat a fly and then Val was pinned beneath Drago's booted heel. Val looked scared as Drago prepared to strike the final blow but then he was knocked several feet away with one swift punch from Stoick.

When Drago rose up from where he'd landed and saw that his attacker had been Stoick, the man he thought he'd killed eight years ago, Drago was furious.

Stoick helped Val to stand.

"Thank you," said Val, with a loving look in her eyes.

Stoick returned the loving gaze. "For you, my dear, anything." Stoick's face became cold and hard as he swung his battle hammer in his hands and prepared to fight Drago. He had an old score to settle with the dragon conqueror. "Val, do you think you can stop the Bewilderbeasts?"

"I can ," said Val. She freed Cloudjumper and got onto his back. "Come on, Cloudjumper!" And with that, they took off to stop the battling Alpha dragons.

Stoick then let out a battle cry and began fighting Drago with everything he had. It was high time Drago paid for what he'd done—to the tribe leaders and their heirs that he'd killed, to the dragons he'd tormented and to Stoick's family for the pain he'd caused.

" _You!_ " growled Drago, as they dueled. "I watched you burn!"

Stoick dodged a blow from Drago and glared. "It takes more than a little fire to kill me! And I'm going to make you pay for what you did to my daughter and ensure that you never again threaten my family!" Stoick began punching and kicking the living daylights out of Drago.

Meanwhile, Val's efforts to stop the Bewilderbeasts from fighting were turning out to be fruitless. And worse still, though the white Bewilderbeast fought bravely and with all his might as they butted heads—quite literally—the black Bewilderbeast got the upper hand. The black Bewilderbeast grabbed at the white Bewilderbeast's throat with his tusks and pinned the white Bewilderbeast down before finally killing it.

Lenora gasped in horror and felt as though the world had ended as she watched the black Bewilderbeast take control of the dragons with one great and powerful roar.

Drago had a smug, satisfied look on his face. "We've won! Now, finish the Stormcutter's rider!"

Not every dragon had been placed under the black Bewilderbeast's control, which allowed Stoick the chance to try and save his wife with the help of Skullcrusher. Cloudjumper's tail was frozen in ice by the black Bewilderbeast and then she was knocked down. Stoick leapt off of Skullcrusher and saved Val's life by catching her and cushioning their fall into a pile of snow. Then the situation worsened when Aster tried to rid the world of Drago once and for all by coming at him from behind with an axe, only to be knocked off Brightscales when the Deadly Nadder was placed under the black Bewilderbeast's control. Aster landed painfully in front of Drago.

As Drago approached the now disarmed Aster with his blade in hand and prepared to end one of the obstacles between Drago and Lenora, Lenora became desperate enough to try her insane plan.

"Stop! Drago, stop!" cried Lenora. Quickly, she concealed her betrothal necklace from Aster beneath her clothes and put on the one from Drago as Toothless landed in front of Aster and she slid off the Night Fury's back. "DRAGO, _STOP!_ "

Drago froze in his tracks and stared at Lenora in stunned disbelief as they looked upon each other for the first time in eight years. "Lenora? Angel Light, my love, can it really be you?"

Lenora nodded. "Yes, it's me, Drago. It's Lenora, your Angel Light."

Drago dropped his spear and then he held Lenora close with his good arm. "I've missed you."

"And I you," lied Lenora. She swallowed painfully as she pulled apart from Drago's embrace and looked into his eyes. "I'm so, sorry. Please, listen. I was wrong to refuse you all those years ago. I know it's no excuse, but Drago, you need to understand, when you made that proposal, I was young and scared. I thought I was in love with another and I wasn't ready for marriage or such great changes in my life. And when we fought, I didn't know what I was doing. I was just a child acting out of fear. But there hasn't been a day that's gone by that I haven't regretted what happened between us or that I haven't wished I could see you again. Please, forgive me."

Lenora's words were both lies and truth. She had regrets over what happened with Drago, and she had been a child afraid and unready for marriage back then, that much was true. But she didn't regret refusing Drago and nor had she ever wished to see him again. She only regretted what her past with Drago had led to and almost cost her and her people.

"I forgave you long ago," said Drago, softly. Then his eyes darkened with anger. "But how can you have betrayed me by becoming engaged to that pathetic worm and siding with dragons after what those devils did to me? How can you have become the great Dragon Master."

"It's complicated, Drago. Please, try to understand," begged Lenora. _Actually, it's not complicated, but I doubt you'll understand that._ "What I did, what I've become, it was never to hurt you. I did it to help Berk survive. The war between dragons and humans was destroying both sides. I couldn't let it continue. I'm not as strong or as intimidating as you are, this was the only way I knew to protect my people without losing anyone else I cared about. And as for becoming engaged to Aster, well, what other choice did I have? I thought you were _dead_. You fell into the sea and you never came back for me. How was I supposed to know otherwise?"

Drago's face softened and then he pressed his face into her palm when she placed her hand upon his scarred cheek. She knew that he'd forgiven her and was no longer angry, for which she was glad, for it meant she might still have a chance of ending this peacefully.

"I love you, Drago. Always have and always will," said Lenora, softly as a tear rolled her cheek. It was a miracle she didn't choke as she spoke her lies, for they tasted bitter and she wished the earth would swallow her up then and there for it. But if this was the price she had to pay to stop a war, then she would gladly pay it. "I just didn't realize it until it was too late. Refusing you was my biggest mistake. But we can change that now. We can be husband and wife. I will go with you now and be yours, body and soul, forever. If you still want me, that is."

 _I can't believe I'm hoping for this, but please say yes! Please!_ This had to work. Otherwise, Lenora was going to have to resort to a drastic measure that she'd been praying she wouldn't have to take.

"Of course, I still want you, Angel Light," said Drago. He slid an arm around her waist and pulled her in close to him. "That'll never change. Whatever you wish for, I'll grant it."

Lenora felt relieved that Drago believed her and decided to ask for just one thing, but first she needed to know some things. "Then before I make a wish, help me to understand what you're doing. All this loss, all this destruction and for what? To become unstoppable? To rule the world? Drago, I know what dragons did to you, what they cost you, but you need to understand that until Red Death was vanquished, they had no choice in doing what they did. Now that she's gone, there's no need for either side to be dominated. We can live in peace."

Drago softly laughed and shook his head. "No, you're wrong. Peace is never an option."

 _Oh, crap._ Lenora could tell she was losing him and had to act quickly. "Then why a dragon army? Why make them work for you if you despise them so much?"

Drago grinned. "Well, you need dragons to conquer other dragons."

There was truth in Drago's words but also lies, Lenora could tell. "Or maybe you need dragons to conquer people, to control those who follow you and to get rid of those who won't." _Just like you did eight years ago when you slaughtered the tribe leaders and their heirs and my father._

Drago squeezed her shoulder affectionately. "You always were a clever girl, Angel Light."

By now, Lenora's heart was pounding so hard she thought it might beat out of her chest and she was trying her hardest not to show her fear.

"Drago, I'm willing to go with you," said Lenora. "I love you. But we can't live like this. I want to live a life with you without so much death and destruction. Please, if your word means anything to you, if _I_ ever meant anything to you, then prove it now by stopping this attack, spare these people and let us leave here in peace. We'll stay away from Berk and never return. And I can show you another way of living with dragons. I'll have no ties to my past. Fulfill this one wish, my love."

The words Lenora spoke felt like splintering chicken bones stuck in her throat, but she said them as it was the only way of making peace. If this worked, if she could leave this place with Drago without further loss and destruction, then Lenora could do what had to be done without risking the wrath of Drago's men and dragons.

For a moment, Lenora thought that Drago might fulfill her request but then a terrifying look that she knew all too well, crossed his face.

"Oh, you shall have no ties to your past and we will leave this place together, but not in the way you expect. If you're to truly be mine, heart and soul, then I must rid this world of _him!_ Now let _me_ show _you_ how to live with dragons, Angel Light!" said Drago. "No dragon can resist the Alpha's command, so he controls the Alpha controls them all! Witness true strength, Lenora, the strength of will over others! In the face of it, this pathetic maggot is nothing while _I_ am everything!"

Drago let out a terrible roar and then the Bewilderbeast let out its siren song. Toothless cried out in pain and thrashed about, trying to fight it before he finally fell under the Bewilderbeast's spell. When Toothless lifted his head up, his pupils were tiny slits and he was no longer in control of his own actions. Toothless then began stalking towards Aster to kill him as Drago grabbed Lenora's arm and began dragging her away.

"NO!" cried Lenora. _This is all my fault. This is all my fault._ If she'd just done what had to be done, this wouldn't be happening. Now she had a choice, stop Drago or save Aster. Unwilling to let the love of her life die at her best friend's hand, Lenora chose the latter. "ASTER!"

Acting fast, Lenora grabbed her knife and cut Drago's hand, causing him to cry out in pain as he released her. Lenora then ran as fast as she could and then shoved Aster away as Toothless' plasma blast hit her square in the chest and then she fell to the ground and took her last breath.


	8. Dragon Army

**Dragon Army**

A terrible silence fell after Lenora was fatally struck.

Smoke emitted from Toothless' mouth as the Night Fury breathed hard from the blow he'd struck. Drago showed no sign of remorse for his actions as he clenched his injured hand into a fist and then walked away in disgust.

Aster quickly picked himself up from where he'd fallen after Lenora shoved him out of the way of Toothless' blow. Aster was breathing hard and his heart was pounding with fear as he ran over to the body of his beloved fiancée and dug her out of the ice that had fallen on her. Stoick and Val, who'd been racing to come and protect their daughter, helped Aster out.

"Lenora? Lenora, please, talk to me!" cried Aster. He turned Lenora over onto her back and held her in his arms. "Lenora, please, wake up!"

But Lenora was silent. Her body was cold, her eyes were closed, she breathed no more and there was a terrible mark on her chest from where she'd been hit. Lenora was gone. She'd sacrificed herself to save the man she loved. Heartbroken and grief-stricken, Aster buried his face in Lenora's hair as he cried.

"You can't leave me like this!" he whispered. "We were supposed to get married and have a big family and explore the world! Lenora, please, come back to me!"

Stoick looked devastated as he wept and held his wife close. "My Nora…not my Nora…" His daughter had died a heroine, but Stoick would've gladly traded places with her. No parents should have to outlive their own child.

"My baby!" sobbed Val, as she cried into Stoick's shoulder. "My little baby!"

Seventeen years of waiting, of longing and dreaming for her daughter's return…all wasted, all destroyed in one single moment.

Gobber was distraught at the loss of his beloved goddaughter and from the looks on the faces of Eret, Fishlegs, Snotlout and the twins, they felt the same way. Lenora had been a dear, dear friend to all of them and a source of hope and guidance. She'd been their leader. How were they to continue on without her? How was Berk going to survive without its rightful heir? Snotlout was no leader. And now that Drago could control the dragons, all was lost.

Toothless was then released from the Bewilderbeast's control. For a moment, Toothless felt dazed and didn't remember what had happened, but then it came back to him and he felt a wave of grief and guilt. Timidly, Toothless walked over to Lenora's hand and nuzzled it as he attempted to pay his respects to his fallen rider and lost sister.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" roared Stoick, smacking the dragon's head. Toothless began to back away and he looked miserable, but Stoick didn't care. As far as he was concerned, Toothless deserved whatever he got. Toothless was the reason Lenora was dead. "You killed her, devil! She's dead and it's all your fault! Get away!"

Toothless flinched at Stoick's harsh tone. His ears drooped and his eyes became wide with grief and shame. Although what Toothless had done was not of his own volition Toothless knew that deep down, he was to blame for Lenora's death. He'd taken the life of the one dearest to him, the one he'd sworn to protect. He deserved everything he got as punishment.

"GO!" yelled Stoick.

"Stoick, stop it," said Aster, thickly through his tears. "It's not Toothless' fault." Aster held no anger towards the Night Fury as he knew that Toothless never would've done such a terrible thing of his own volition. If anything, Aster blamed himself for failing to destroy Drago and he blamed Drago for taking Lenora away.

"He's right, Stoick," said Val, softly. Her eyes were red from tears and her throat was tightening, but she still managed to speak clearly. "It's not Toothless' fault, you know that. Good dragons under the control of bad people do bad things."

Stoick did not reply. He knew that Val and Aster were right and he regretted being so harsh with Toothless, but he'd needed someone to blame, to yell at in his moment of grief and anger. Toothless had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The black Bewilderbeast then let out one final roar and every single dragon that could hear him obeyed his command and took off with him. Under the Bewilderbeast's command, Toothless submitted to Drago and Drago rode away on Toothless' back.

"Gather the men and meet me at Berk!" ordered Drago.

Eret and the Berkians could do nothing but helplessly watch as Drago then departed with his men and dragon army, leaving them stranded and without hope. Everything was lost. What were they going to do now?

 **XXX**

It had been hours since Drago left.

The sun had set and it was getting colder, but Aster hadn't moved. He'd flung Drago's pendant into the sea, but that was all. He wouldn't let go of Lenora's body. Letting her go meant it was real, that she was gone and never coming back.

"Aster," said Stoick, quietly as he placed a hand on the young man's shoulder. "It's time."

They'd prepared a Viking's funeral for Lenora by using the remains of one of Drago's ships and ridding it of Drago's mark. They'd gotten a fire going and were ready to use the remains of Drago's bows and arrows to set the ship ablaze and send Lenora to her final resting place as one of the honored fallen of Valhalla.

Aster stubbornly shook his head and held Lenora tighter. "No! I won't let you!"

"Aster, please," said Val. She'd been sitting with Aster as she'd wanted to be with her daughter for as long as possible, but even she knew that they had to do this. "It's time."

"We don't want to let her go either, laddie," said Gobber, sniffling. "But we must."

Before Aster could reply, something happened.

Suddenly, rays of sunlight beamed down from the heavens and from those ray of light descended a beautiful shield maiden clad in armor, astride a mighty winged horse, carrying a mighty spear. This was no ordinary shield maiden, this was one of the great Valkyries, goddesses of Asgard who took those slain in battle to the realm of Valhalla.

"Valkyrie," gasped Val, as she bowed her head in respect.

The other Berkians were shocked, for none of them had ever laid eyes on a god or goddess before, but nonetheless, they bowed in respect for the goddess. But Aster tightly held Lenora's body in his arms and glared. Goddess or no goddess, he wouldn't let Lenora go.

But the Valkyrie paid no attention to Aster's rebellious behavior. Instead she looked kindly at the mortals before her and spoke softly.

"Be not afraid, young mortals," she said. "For though this is a time of pain, I bring you tidings of rejoicing. Look upon me and see the gift which I bear for you."

There was a great flash of light and when it faded and they looked at the goddess, they saw what Valkyrie was referring to. There, cradled in the Valkyrie's arms with the greatest respect, was the ghostly form of Lenora's soul.

Aster was rendered speechless, as was everyone else. Stoick and Val clung to each other as they exchanged hopeful looks.

"Though this soul's worth is beyond measure and would be welcomed in Valhalla with open arms, she has been given a rare choice and she has chosen to return to Midgard, to all of you. Like her mother before her, she took the gods' test and she succeeded where few before her had. Now, she will be restored so that she can fulfill her destiny. Stand aside."

Stoick and the others backed away from Lenora's body as the goddess knelt down and placed Lenora's soul in Lenora's body. Immediately, Lenora's coloring returned, her wound disappeared and she drew a slow, deep breath, but her eyes remained closed.

"When I leave this place, Lenora will awaken. But know this: though she has chosen to return, recent events have caused her heart and her spirit to be broken. The battle ahead of her will be her greatest challenge yet. She will need all of you beside her if she's to succeed," said Valkyrie. She then turned to leave.

"Thank you," said Aster, gratefully.

Valkyrie said nothing. She merely smiled and then disappeared into the heavens with her mount.

 **XXX**

When Lenora awakened from her slumber, she found herself gazing into her fiancé's blue eyes. She felt a wave of relief. He was safe. She'd succeeded in saving his life.

"Hey, Handsome," she said, faintly. "You okay?"

Aster began crying and laughing. "I'm just fine, Beautiful."

Aster then kissed Lenora with an intense passion that she returned before he helped her to stand. Lenora leaned heavily on Aster for a few moments as she still felt weak and dazed from her return to life. She hoped no one would ask about what she'd experienced, for there were no words to describe it and even so, she knew it would seem unbelievable.

It was then that Lenora saw that everyone was staring at her with happy yet teary looks.

"Hey, guys." Lenora didn't quite know what to say. "I'm home."

"Oh, Nora!" cried Stoick. He wrapped his arms around Lenora and held her in a bone-crushing embrace and kissed her head. "Thank Thor you're alive!"

"I'm never leaving again, Dad, I promise," said Lenora. While she knew she would make her choice again in a heartbeat, she was going to try her hardest to never leave behind her loved ones like that ever again as long as she lived.

Then it was Val's turn. She held Lenora tightly and stroked her hair. "I'm never letting you out of my sight again."

"Feeling's mutual," said Lenora, slightly muffled by Val's hood.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again, you hear me, lass?" scolded Gobber, light-heartedly when his turn came to hug Lenora. "I've got enough gray hairs as it is."

"I'll try, Gobber," said Lenora, smiling a little. But she sincerely doubted she wouldn't, as it was a little too easy to scare Gobber.

Fishlegs's turn came next. He was sobbing like a wee baby as he held Lenora. "I'm so glad you're okay, Lenora!"

"Me too, Fish," said Lenora, softly. _Believe me, you have no idea._ It was so scary to die and come back as she had. It wasn't something Lenora cared to repeat.

The twins then crushed Lenora into their own embrace.

"You can't do that ever again! We need you!" said Ruffnut, crying.

"Yeah, how else are we going to have our fun if you're not there so we can drive you crazy and have you yell at us for being muttonheads?" said Tuffnut, in agreement.

Lenora chuckled softly and then it was Snotlout's turn. Her cousin had been standing to the side, not saying a word and remaining stalwart.

"Snotlout—" began Lenora. She was cut off when Snotlout grabbed her and pulled her in close. She could feel his tears trickling down her neck.

"Never again, do you hear me, you stupid muttonhead?" said Snotlout, sounding muffled. " _Never_. Or so help me Thor, I will end you."

"Never," promised Lenora. "I swear it."

Eret, who decided to keep back and let Lenora's loved ones enjoy her return, merely smiled and looked at her with respect and Lenora returned it.

This went on for several moments. It was truly a miracle. It was as if Lenora hadn't left them at all. There wasn't no sign of the fatal injury she'd sustained, for she neither felt one nor saw one. There wasn't even a hole in her clothes from Toothless' attack. It was as if she'd never been hurt at all. But although Lenora's physical injuries were healed, the same could not be said for her emotional ones. When all the hugs and tears were over, Lenora glanced around and her face fell when she saw that there wasn't a single dragon to be found. Toothless was gone.

"Where's Toothless?" she asked. "Where're Drago and the dragons?"

Everyone became quiet as Stoick's gaze fell down to his hands, making a sinking feeling of dread settle in Lenora's stomach.

"I made a mistake. You were dead. I knew it wasn't Toothless' fault, but I was so angry and grief-stricken…Drago let Toothless free for a moment and that poor beast was devastated. He tried to get close to you, but I wouldn't let him. I-I drove him away," confessed Stoick. "Drago put Toothless back under his control and they took off."

"No…" whispered Lenora, distraught. Tears came to her eyes and she felt her heart breaking. Toothless was gone, Drago had an Alpha and every dragon under his control and was headed towards Berk, and they were all stranded. Lenora had come back for nothing. "I'm so sorry, everyone."

"Sorry?" repeated Gobber, puzzled. "For what?"

 _For what? Where do I start, Gobber?_ "I'm sorry that I'm not the Chieftess you all wanted me to be and I'm not the peacekeeper I thought I was. Everything that's happened here is my fault, because I refused to listen and thought that I knew best, because I thought I was doing the right thing. And now because of me, everything's lost."

All this had started because Lenora thought she was doing good, but good was far from what she had accomplished. One question haunt and hurt too much to mention. Had Lenora been seeking good or just seeking attention? Was that all good deeds were when looked at with an ice-cold eye? If that's all good deed were, then maybe that was the reason why no good deed went unpunished and why she was suffering so much for her choices now.

Aster placed a hand on Lenora's shoulder and then placed his other hand under Lenora's chin, making her look at him.

"Let me tell you a story of a little boy who fell and the little girl who helped him get back up. Once upon a time, there was a young Viking boy that wanted to be able to climb one of the island's tallest trees like the other men in his family had. But when he tried, he fell and scraped his hands so badly he despaired of every accomplishing his goal. But then a little Viking girl came and bound up the boy's hands with bandages and she asked him, 'why do we fall?' When the little boy couldn't answer, she replied, 'so we can learn to pick ourselves up.' The girl's words inspired the boy to keep trying and eventually, he succeeded. I've _never_ forgotten that day, Lenora. You taught me to keep going no matter what. You didn't give up on me and I will _never_ give up on you," said Aster. "I love you."

Lenora's heart leapt at Aster's words and she tenderly kissed him. "I love you too." She, too, had never forgotten that moment she'd shared with Aster when they were kids. It gave her a sense of hope sometimes too.

But in that moment right then, Lenora still felt a sense of hopelessness and loss, which didn't go unnoticed by her parents.

"You came into this world six weeks early. You were so small and fragile that we were told you wouldn't make it. But your mother and I, we refused to give up on you. Val gave you your name, because from the moment she knew she was expecting you, you were her light of hope and she wanted all of Berk to know that too. And I never doubted you because I believed then as I always have, that you would be the strongest of us all and I was right," said Stoick. He placed a hand on Lenora's shoulder. "You've done so many amazing things, accomplished what I never could and you reunited this family. We believe in you, Nora, you need only to believe in yourself."

"You have the heart of a Chieftess and the soul of a dragon. I waited seventeen years for you because I had faith in you and I still do. Only you can bring our worlds together, just like you did when you vanquished Red Death. You can do it again, but you will not be alone when you do. That is who you truly are, my sweet light," said Val.

One by one, everyone spoke of something Lenora had done that had bettered their lives.

"I was nothing more than Drago's lackey until I stumbled across you, Miss Lenora," said Eret. "You scared me to death, but you got through to me and partly because of you, I finally saw the error of my ways."

"I never could've asked for a better blacksmith apprentice or a goddaughter," said Gobber. "Not only did your creativity with inventions encourage me to go further with my own work, but you stood by my side when no one else did when I went chasing after Bonehead and helped us become friends."

"When I doubted myself when Snotlout teased me, you taught me that being brave and strong was more than just fighting weapons and dragons, that standing up for yourself with your words and integrity was more challenging but even more rewarding," said Fishlegs.

"When Tuffnut and I were fighting so much that we wanted to go our separate ways, you knocked our heads together and got us to that we're stronger together and make up," said Ruffnut.

"Yeah, and you helped us make an amazing boar pit on Dragon's Edge when no one would ever let us do that before!" said Tuffnut.

"And when we were stranded on Outcast Island and I kept picking fights because I was angry over my own inadequacies since everyone kept comparing me to you, you got me to see that it didn't matter what everyone else thought of me and that I was great in my own way," said Snotlout. "That all that mattered was how _I_ saw myself and that my family cared about me no matter what."

Lenora was quiet as she contemplated their words. She thought back to the last five years. She had done what no one on Berk had been willing to do: she'd befriended and trained a Night Fury, she'd helped Toothless to fly again and regain his hope when there had been none, she'd vanquished Red Death and united dragons and humans in peace, she'd changed Berk for the better and was continuing changing it with each new invention or idea she came up with; she'd gained the love of her secret crush, won her father's approval and made him proud, explored countless new territories and discovered new dragon species; she'd defeated foes like Alvin the Treacherous and Dagur the Deranged, and because she'd chosen to follow her heart she'd been reunited with her mother after seventeen long years. And most of all, Lenora had returned from the _dead_ , a feat few had ever done. She'd chosen to return for a reason and it wasn't to just give up. People stood by and followed Lenora because they had faith in her abilities. She wasn't a failure, she was a leader and a dragon rider!

Lenora's hope was restored and she felt the familiar fire within her soul blaze again. She'd done the impossible before and she would do it again.

"I was afraid of my destiny. I was afraid that I couldn't be what everyone expected of me and that I would let everyone down. But now I know that I can only be what I am and that's enough and that I'll only fail if I choose to do so. Well, I don't choose that," said Lenora, with renewed determination. "A Chieftess protects her own. We're going back."

Everyone cheered and smiled at their leader's renewed courage and heart, but the twins looked skeptical and confused.

"Uh…with what?" questioned Tuffnut.

"Drago took all the dragons," reminded Ruffnut.

Lenora grinned as she shared a knowing look with her mother. "Not _all_ the dragons."

 **XXX**

Flying on the giant dragon hatchlings—either through the giant ice labyrinth or anywhere else for that matter—was _not_ something Lenora nor anyone else with her cared to ever do again.

They were quick little things, and they meant well but steering was beyond difficult as the hatchlings were so excited about leaving the nest that they made the flight into a game that caused everyone to crash into the ice and snow at least half a dozen times. They kept bouncing up and down, making some of the riders sick to their stomachs.

"I don't want to die!" wailed Fishlegs.

"We can't fly these things!" complained Tuffnut.

"Yeah, no kidding!" said Fishlegs, before he crashed into a snowbank.

Lenora laughed as she twisted and turned through the narrow icy pathway.

"Hey, Lenora, not that I'm questioning your decisions here, but won't that Bewilderbeast just take control of these little guys too?" asked Aster. He was flying close to Lenora as like her parents and godfather, they didn't intend to let Lenora of their sights until it became completely necessary.

Lenora shook her head. "Nope! That's why using them to get back to Berk is perfect! They're _babies!_ They don't listen to anyone!"

"Yeah, just like us!" said Tuffnut, grinning.

Gobber struggled to hold onto his hatchling, which was quite difficult as the little one had a lot of energy and without the special saddle Gobber used when riding Bonehead, Gobber was at the little hatchling's mercy.

"This—ow!—is—ow!—very—OW!—dangerous!" cried Gobber, as he kept bashing his head into a wall of ice and snow. "Some might suggest this is poorly conceived!"

They dove around bridges of ice and squeezed themselves through the narrow pathway as they became one step closer to their goal.

"Then it's a good thing I never listen!" said Lenora, grinning.

Stoick and Val laughed and looked proudly at their daughter.

"So what is your plan?" asked Stoick.

Lenora looked determined. "Get Toothless back and kick Drago's butt before I send him to meet his maker!" Her eyes widened at what lay before her. "Guys, heads up! _Up, little one!_ "

Lenora's ride quickly went up and the others followed just in time to dodge a giant wedge of ice that was blocking their pathway.

 _I'm coming for you, Toothless. I'm going to save you and all of Berk, I promise._ Lenora was no longer doubting herself and nor was she was afraid anymore. She felt confidant, braver and stronger. And one way or another, Lenora would save the lives that were depending on her and she would ensure that Drago's reign of terror ended for good.

 **XXX**

When Lenora and the others arrived at Berk at dawn, they were distraught to see that Drago had gotten there first and was still wrecking his terrible destruction upon the island.

The black Bewilderbeast was crouching on the cliffs and hovering above his head were all of the ice cavern's dragons and Berk's combined, some of the dragons were wreaking havoc upon Berk at Drago's command, the black Bewilderbeast's terrible ice breath had destroyed much of Berk's architecture and the villagers were huddled together in one place while Dragon scared the living daylights out of them and forced them into submission.

Righteous fury threatened to overwhelm Lenora. "Distract the Alpha! Try to keep his focus off of Toothless!"

"Uh, how?" asked Tuffnut.

"Have you forgotten who you're riding with?" said Eret. "There isn't a dragon alive that I can't wrangle! Ah!" The hatchling he was riding suddenly dove down. "Except for this one!"

Stoick laughed and shook his head. "Amateur. Now, let's go!"

As Lenora led them into battle, the people of Berk cheered and applauded in relief at the sight of their leader's return. Hope for their lives and their future had come back in the form of the light of Berk and those who followed her.

The growling black Bewilderbeast was quickly distracted by the sheep that were tossed into the air via Snotlout's sheep launcher and the blaring noise of the horn used for the dragon races. The great beast became agitated and breathed out ice at the horn and its attention remained diverted from Toothless as Lenora wished.

While the beast was being distracted, Lenora flew up to Drago, who was hovering above Berk on Toothless' back.

Drago could not believe what he was seeing and his eyes widened in shock at the sight of Lenora returned from the dead. "What…? How…? I _killed_ you!"

"You can't kill what's destined to live, Drago," said Lenora, smirking. "The gods saw fit to give me a second chance at life and I can promise they won't do the same for you."

When Lenora had died and spoken to Queen Hel about Drago, the Goddess of Death had given her sacred word that when Drago died, the madman would not return and would spend the rest of eternity suffering as punishment not just for the crimes he'd committed against humanity but that against the gods as well.

Drago scoffed. "I do not believe you!"

Lenora ignored Drago as she reached her hand out to Toothless and spoke to him in his native tongue. She knew she could break Toothless free of Drago's control, their bond was stronger than any siren's song.

" _Toothless, it's me. It's me, bud,_ " she said. " _I know it may seem like this is an illusion, but I swear to you that I'm real. I'm here, Toothless. Please, come back to me._ "

Though he didn't speak dragonese, Drago seemed to guess what Lenora was doing because he began to chuckle and smirk. "He's not yours anymore, Angel Light. He's mine, just like you will be soon enough."

Lenora's green eyes blazed like two narrow slits of green fire. "I was nor and nor will I ever be yours, Drago!" she spat, angrily before turning back to Toothless. " _Toothless, I know you must feel so much guilt for what happened, but it wasn't your fault. Drago and this monster made you do it. You would never hurt anyone unless it was in self-defense and even then, I know you would never hurt Aster or me. It's not who you are. You're not a killer._ "

Lenora's words seemed to have an effect on Toothless, for he began to shake his head and growl as his pupils began to widen.

Hopeful, Lenora continued moving her hand closer to Toothless' snout. " _I came back from the dead, not just for Aster and my family but for you, bud, because I couldn't bear to leave you. Remember when we met that day in the woods? I didn't just save your life when I freed you and helped you fly again. You saved my life when you accepted me into your world and became my friend._ "

Lenora placed her hand on Toothless' snout and happy tears came to her eyes as Toothless' pupils became large again and he purred in happiness at seeing Lenora alive.

"How're you doing that?" asked Drago, in amazement.

" _The only reason I am what I am today is because of you, because of the bond we share. You're more than just my best friend, Toothless, you're my brother. We're family. I love you, buddy_ ," said Lenora.

Lenora withdrew her hand as the black Bewilderbeast's pupils fluctuated and he lost control. Toothless' eyes became normal again and then he was purring and making happy noises as he grinned his famous toothless grin.

" _Lenora, you're alive! You're okay!_ " said Toothless. " _You're back, little sister!_ "

Lenora laughed through her happy tears. She'd won. She had her friend back. "And so are you, boy. So are you!"

"Enough!" roared Drago.

Drago attempted to beat Toothless with his spear, but Toothless grabbed it in his mouth and then used it to force Drago off him. Drago screamed as he fell and hit the black Bewilderbeast's tusk while Toothless just grinned in contentment and looked proud of himself.

"You did it, Toothless!" said Lenora. "I'm so proud of you!" He'd broken free for her. What greater sign of loyalty was there?

Toothless then screeched in distress as he was still a downed dragon without his rider and began falling to his death. Lenora jumped off the hatchling and dove straight for Toothless. She reached out her hand and grasped his saddle and then got herself hooked in. She pressed into the stirrup and then they took off into the skies.

"We need to get Drago and the Bewilderbeast apart," said Lenora. "And I think I know how to do it. Come on, Toothless!"

As they soared around Berk, Lenora snatched up the frayed remains of a sail from a ship as they narrowly dodged the black Bewilderbeast's ice-breath. Once hidden from the Alpha's sight, Lenora held out the sail.

"We've got to block them out. Do you trust me?" asked Lenora.

Toothless purred and nodded. " _Always have, always will. Do it._ "

Lenora wrapped the sail around Toothless' eyes like a blindfold. They would do this like they'd done everything else—together as one. Lenora pressed into the stirrup and Toothless flew smoothly around Berk.

"All right, now let's do this one more time!" said Lenora, as they flew towards their foes.

Drago stood on the Bewilderbeast's head. "Take control of them!"

But the Bewilderbeast's efforts were fruitless. With Toothless' eyes covered by the blindfold and his ears covered by Lenora's hands, the Night Fury could not succumb to the black Bewilderbeast's control.

"Stop them!" yelled Drago.

"Now!" yelled Lenora.

Toothless swooped up high and avoided the black Bewilderbeast's attack and then as Toothless soared in the air on his back, his blindfold came loose and fell to the ground and Lenora activated her flight suit. She got right up in Drago's face and used her weapon to spray out a gigantic cloud of Hideous Zippleback gas, which she then ignited, causing an explosion that injured the black Bewilderbeast and sent Drago flying off the beast.

Lenora was suddenly hit with déjà vu as she came close to colliding with the black Bewildebeast's tail, but Toothless separated the spikes on his back and tail which allowed him to make the turn necessary to save Lenora. She landed on his back and then they flew straight up and dodged the great beast's tail.

"Yeah, we did it! I'm so proud of you, Toothless!" said Lenora, cheering. _It worked. It actually worked! I can't believe it!_

" _We did it!_ " cheered Toothless. " _Now, let's get Drago!_ "

They quickly flew back to Berk and landed in front of Drago as the man tried to stand up. As Drago reached for his spear, Lenora ignited her sword and tossed it, blocking Drago from retrieving his weapon. Drago growled in anger.

"Hold him there, Toothless!" said Lenora.

" _With pleasure_ ," said Toothless, as he growled ferociously.

Lenora approached Drago with a cold look on her face. "I once saved your life. Once I trusted you. I was so lonely that I wanted to believe you and I could be friends that you could find it in your heart to care about something other than yourself and your power. But all of it was a fantasy, a lie, just everything I said to you right before you killed me."

Lenora had always blamed herself for what had happened, what Drago had done, but that was over. Drago had never been her friend and nor had she ever truly been his. Eight years ago, she'd been a mere teenager who'd been trying to do the right thing and she couldn't have stopped Drago even if she had seen him for what he was earlier. Her only crime was keeping Drago a secret and letting him torment her as she had.

"I was riddled with guilt over what happened between us. I blamed myself for what you did and hated myself for being unable to stop you. You tormented me in my nightmares and for _eight years_ I lived in fear of you. But no more. The crimes you've committed are not my own. And when I look you, I wonder how I was _ever_ afraid of you when I see you for what you really are: a pathetic, crazy coward!" spat Lenora.

Drago's eyes darkened with rage. "You _dare—_ "

"Yes, I dare!" said Lenora, angrily. She narrowed her eyes at Drago. No longer would she be tormented by the past or be afraid of Drago. That was all over. "You're a coward, Drago. You always have been and always will be. But that doesn't matter anymore because it's over. You've lost, Drago. So give up now while you have the chance."

But Drago did not surrender to Lenora. He looked smug as he grinned. "Oh, I don't think so."

Lenora had no time to react as the black Bewilderbeast came into view and blasted her with ice just as Toothless quickly covered her in his protective embrace. But the battle was far from over yet as Toothless and Lenora had discovered a new ability the Night Fury didn't even know he had. His spine and mouth lit up with bright blue light and then the ice was blasted away.

Toothless' eyes were narrowed in righteous fury and he let out a mighty roar as Lenora emerged from his protective embrace. Lenora then watched in amazement and pride as Toothless climbed up the spiky ice and roared at the black Bewilderbeast.

"He's challenging the Alpha!" said Lenora.

"To protect you!" said Val, as she and Stoick came up from behind.

"Knock him down, Toothless!" yelled Stoick.

Toothless fired multiple powerful blasts of blue fire at the black Bewilderbeast. Each blow dealt a great deal of damage. When the black Bewilderbeast knocked down the spike of ice Toothless had been sitting on, Toothless quickly leapt onto another one and resuming firing at the beast. As Toothless fired at the black Bewilderbeas, the monster's control over the other dragons waned and the dragons soon broke free and regained their free will. Toothless then leapt down and roared commands at his fellow dragons. The dragons obeyed and left the black Bewilderbeast to fend for himself.

"No, no, no, no!" roared Drago. He leapt onto the black Bewilderbeast's tusk and climbed up the beast's face. "What's the matter with you? Fight back! FIGHT!"

The black Bewilderbeast just made a loud moan as everyone on Berk, both the humans and the dragons, made a defensive line behind Lenora and Toothless.

Lenora leapt onto Toothless' back and then the Night Fury flew into the air and then landed on a spike of ice.

"Now do you see, Drago?" said Lenora, as she beckoned to the dragons that were standing by her and Toothless. " _This_ is what I was trying to tell you before! _This_ is what it means to have a dragon's loyalty and friendship! You could've had all of this and more eight years ago, but instead you chose a path that'll only destroy you! Let this end, _now!_ "

"NEVER!" roared Drago.

"Then you bring this on yourself!" said Lenora. What she did now was the right thing to do and she had no regrets. "NOW, EVERYONE!"

Toothless confirmed Lenora's command and then every single dragon, including Drago's armored ones, fired upon Drago and the black Bewilderbeast. With their combined might, the terrible Alpha could not fight back and then Toothless delivered the final blow that ensured Drago would never return. The black Bewilderbeast then let out a terrible roar but before he could attack, Toothless delivered a blow that blasted off one of his humongous tusks.

" _Do not kill him, Toothless_ ," said Lenora, when the Night Fury readied himself to end it. " _He's done terrible things, but only because he knew no better from Drago's teachings and abuse. There is a time for might and a time for mercy. Staying in Berk is out of the question for him, but give him the chance to live another life in peace. The Alpha protects them all._ "

In the last few days, Lenora had learned the unfortunate but sometimes necessary need for battle, the value of mercy and the blessing of second chances. She'd been granted a second chance at life by the mercy of the gods and she wished to extend that same olive branch to the black Bewilderbeast and give him a chance at a better life.

Toothless wasn't pleased with Lenora's request and he felt a great deal of anger towards the one that had caused him to kill Lenora, but nevertheless, he adhered to her judgment and allowed the black Bewilderbeast to leave with its life but warned the beast to never again return to Berk or cause harm or else Toothless would do what had to be done.

The black Bewilderbeast accepted the generous offer of mercy and then he disappeared into the sea forever.

 **XXX**

The battle was over.

Drago and his forces were gone and would never again harm Berk. They had won.

The people of Berk cheered and applauded at their victory and the dragons let out cheerful roars at having regained their freedom.

When Lenora and Toothless descended from the spike of ice to meet the crowd, every single dragon acknowledged Toothless as their Alpha by bowing to him in respect, even Cloudjumper. Toothless acknowledged them all with respect and then let out another victory screech and the other dragons did the same. The last of the Night Furies was now the dragons' leader and protector. Lenora couldn't have been prouder.

"You never cease to amaze me, bud," she said, as she stroked him and rubbed his chin. She rested her forehead against his. "Thank you. I love you."

Toothless purred and nuzzled Lenora. " _I love you too._ " Then he grinned a mischievous grin." _And now, I think you need another bath._ "

Lenora yelped as Toothless pinned her down and began licking her clean as everyone laughed. "Knock it off, you overgrown lizard!" she said, laughing.

Everyone on Berk then shared a happy reunion with their dragons. Lenora's fiancé, cousin and friends shared happy embraces with their dragons, Cloudjumper hoisted Val up with his claws and licked her face, Gobber was playfully squashed by Bonehead and then Stoick butted heads with Skullcrusher.

As Lenora was released from Toothless' attempts at a bath, she watched everyone's reunions with their dragons all with a happy smile on her face. Everything was all right again. There was a great deal of work to be done, but it hardly mattered. What did matter was that Drago was gone, the dragons were back, there had been no causalities on their side (aside from herself) and there was peace again. Everything was okay.

"You know, that was some pretty fine dragon-wrangling back there," said Eret, as he approached her and Toothless. "You'd make a good trapper, Lenora."

"Thanks, but I prefer to be a called 'trainer and rider,'" said Lenora. She smiled as she watched the hatchling that was purring and nuzzling Eret's leg as he stroked it. Generally, hatchlings liked anyone that was nice to them, but that little one seemed particularly attached to Eret and he to it. "And that's something I think you'd be great at, with a little practice. Especially since that little one seems rather attached to you."

Eret looked surprised and then hopeful. "Me?"

"Yeah, why not?" said Lenora. She'd been thinking about it for a while now and had decided that Eret had proved himself worthy of being a rider. "You've made some mistakes, but we all have, that's what makes us human. You really came through for us, Eret, and for that I owe you my gratitude. I'm willing to give you a second chance, so if you agree to a probationary period of sixty days and stick to our rules during and after, I think I can talk my dad into letting you stay for good. Deal?"

Eret looked touched and then held out his hand for Lenora to shake. "I'm honored. You've got yourself a deal."

Lenora nodded and then she found herself being swept into a tight embrace by her parents.

"Well done, Lenora!" said Stoick. "We're so proud of you."

Lenora smiled as she returned the embrace. "Thanks. I'm so glad that you're both here, especially you, Mom."

"And here I'll stay, forever," promised Val, as she kissed Lenora's forehead.

And for that, Lenora was grateful.

"Hey, Beautiful."

Lenora turned to see Aster standing behind her, looking at her with love and pride in his eyes.

"You see? I told you that you had nothing to worry about," said Aster. "Everything I see in you, it was inside you all along. You just needed to discover it for yourself."

"And I couldn't have done it without you," said Lenora. "Come here, Handsome." She wrapped her arms around Aster's neck and kissed him with an intense passion that he returned. "I love you so much, Aster."

"I love you too, Lenora," said Aster, as he rested his forehead against hers. "Man, our future kids are going to have a _lot_ to live up to."

Lenora laughed and took Aster's hand in hers, intertwining their fingers. Now that the past was over, Lenora could look towards her future with a sense of peace and joy. And her future was going to be a wonderful one, especially with Toothless and her loved ones beside her.


	9. Wedding and Coronation

**Wedding and Coronation**

Several months later, the day of Lenora and Aster's wedding came on a beautiful spring day.

The sun was shining, the skies were blue and clear, the trees and grass were lush and green and there was every manner of blooming flower everywhere.

Much had occurred in Berk. Berk had recovered from Drago's attack. They had rebuilt what had been destroyed and even made some grand improvement. There wasn't a single trace of the black Bewilderbeast's ice now. Free of Drago's abuse and control, his armored dragons were settling in well along with the rest of Berk's new dragons from the ice cavern. Toothless was being respected and obeyed as the new Alpha. Everyone had a newfound respect and admiration for Lenora. And best of all, Val was settling in well again on Berk.

It had taken a few days for everyone to wrap their heads around it, but thankfully it hadn't taken long for everyone on Berk to accept that Val had returned and was there to stay. Val was welcomed back with open arms as she'd been greatly missed over the last seventeen years and Val was glad to be back. Especially since she had both her adopted family of dragons and her old human one united together. Stoick and Val had renewed their wedding vows and Val was living in the Chief's house again. There had yet to be a day when Lenora didn't come home to them dancing and kissing together as they made up for lost time.

At that moment, Lenora was in her room preparing for the wedding ceremony with Val's help. Val had helped Lenora dress and prepare her hair and place on her jewelry. Lenora tried, but she was finding it hard to stay still as she was ready to burst with excitement. It wouldn't be long before the ceremony and she was longing to see Aster. Tradition dictated that the groom not see the bride before the wedding ceremony, so they'd been parted since yesterday.

"My sweet light, hold still!" said Val, as she placed the diadem on Lenora's head. Val was dressed in her best clothes for wedding. "Honestly, you're as fidgety as a hatchling!"

"I can't help it. I've been dreaming about marrying Aster my entire life and now that it's finally going to happen, I can't contain myself. Besides, were you any different before you married Dad?" teased Lenora.

"I was worse," admitted Val, as she blushed. "But your father was even worse off if you can believe it. He was so impatient, he nearly broke a wall with his hammer!"

Lenora could easily imagine Stoick doing that, so she burst out laughing and Val did the same.

Val smiled softly as she ran her hand through Lenora's silky brown waves and then she touched her daughter's face.

"You look so beautiful," she murmured. "Aster's going to be rendered speechless when he sees you, just like your father did with me."

"I certainly hope so," said Lenora. She covered her mother's hand with her own, relishing in the love she felt from Val's touch. "I still can't believe it's happening. I used to think it was just a dream, that he and I would be together like this." Sometimes Lenora _still_ felt that it was a dream. She'd always loved Aster and knowing that he loved her too made her feel complete. They'd had quite the wild flight together, but it was worth it.

"Well, now it's coming true," said Val.

There was a knock on the door and then Stoick came in, dressed in his finest clothes for the wedding. He was followed by Toothless, who was looked excitedly and eagerly wagging his tail while making happy noises.

"It's time, Lenora," said Stoick, smiling. "You look stunning. Are you ready?"

"Yes, Daddy, thanks," said Lenora. She picked up her bouquet of red and white flowers and then took her father's hand as he led her out of the house.

 **XXX**

The wedding ceremony was taking place in the main center of Berk.

It had been beautiful decorated with polished gold and silver ornaments courtesy of Trader Johann, there was an archway covered in Lenora's favorite flowers. There were chairs for all of Berk's human residents which was a feat in itself, and every single dragon on Berk was watching either from the sides or from the rooftops and perches.

In one corner were Berk's finest musicians prepping their instruments and in another was a table with wedding presents stacked as high as the sky. Down the aisle in between the wedding seats was a lovely white and silver rug used for wedding ceremonies that had been handed down in Aster's family for generations.

On one side of the archway stood Aster's parents, who were very proud of their son. In the center of the archway stood Gobber and Gothi, both dressed in their best attire and looking excited about the ceremony. Gobber had even polished his best hook, making it so shiny he could see his reflection in it. Gobber was going to be the one performing the ceremony that would forever unite Lenora and Aster in marriage and afterwards, Gothi would be the one to pass the mantle of tribe leaders to Lenora and Aster, as per the ancient custom.

Beside them, Aster stood with his blond hair combed back and wearing his best dark blue and gold robes for the wedding. He was also wrangling his hands in nervousness.

"Laddie, what're you so nervous about? Relax," said Gobber. "Smile. This is a happy day."

"I know, I know, and I _am_ happy." Nothing could make Aster happier than marrying Lenora. He'd been waiting a long time for this day, to finally be with the woman that he loved forever as husband and wife. "I'm just a little anxious. Lenora is the most beautiful, amazing woman I'll ever know. I can't help but feel that I'm not worthy of her."

Gobber chuckled. "Lad, let me tell you a little secret: love has nothing to do with worth. Lenora loves you because she sees something special in you, just as you do with her. You two are a match made in heaven. So, quit your fussing and _smile._ You're worse than Stoick was on _his_ first wedding day all those years ago! I'll you all about it later."

Aster became significantly cheered up and no longer felt nervous. He quickly straightened himself up and smiled when the music began playing. It was time for the wedding to begin.

Aster's jaw dropped and his eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets when he laid eyes on his bride as she walked down the aisle on Stoick's arm. Lenora always looked beautiful to Aster—how could she not with her emerald green eyes and stunning smile?—but there were no words to describe how incredibly beautiful she looked in that moment on their wedding day.

Stoick and Val took their places on the bride's side of the archway.

Lenora smiled at Aster as she took her place across from him. "You look so handsome."

"And you look absolutely magnificent," said Aster, as he took her hand into his.

Gobber then began the ceremony. "Ladies, gentleman and dragons of Berk, we are gathered here today in the presence of these witnesses, to join Lenora Horrendous Haddock the Third and Aster Finn Hofferson, in matrimony commended to be honorable among all; and there is not to be entered into lightly, but reverently, passionately, lovingly and solemnly. Into this, these two person now come to be joined. Is it your wish, Aster, to take this woman to be your wife?"

"It is," said Aster.

"Is it your wish, Lenora, to take this man to be your husband?"

"It is," said Lenora.

Gobber held out their wedding rings in his hand. "Then as you exchange your rings, exchange your vows."

Lenora went first and placed Aster's ring on his finger. "Aster, from the moment I first saw you, I have loved you always. You are the most handsome, the kindest, strongest and bravest man I've ever known. You've always treated me with respect and in my darkest hours, you were a light of hope. The years we've spent together have been some of the best years of my life. And if I can make you as happy as you've made me in the years to come, then my life will be complete. Wherever you are, that's my home."

Aster had tears in his eyes as he spoke next and placed Lenora's ring on her finger. "Lenora, to me you have always been the most beautiful, talented, and compassionate young woman. You taught me to never give up, how to be brave and do what was right even when no one else agreed with you. You sacrificed yourself for me. I don't know if any gesture of love I can come up with will ever compare, but I swear to you now, that come what may I will love you for forever and a day, and I will never leave your side."

Lenora's eyes were glistening with happy tears of her own as Gobber finished the ceremony.

"By the power vested in by the island of Berk, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride," said Gobber, proudly.

Aster cupped Lenora's face in his hands and they share a tender kiss as Lenora tossed her bouquet over her shoulder. Ruffnut caught it and squealed in delight as she curled up next to Eret with a dreamy look in her eyes. Aster and Lenora knelt down to Goth's level as the old medicine woman dipped her fingers into red paint and then marked their foreheads with the mark of Chief and Chieftess.

"I present to you, your new Chieftess and Chief!" declared Stoick, proudly.

As Lenora and Aster turned to face the crowd, all of Berk cheered and applauded. Toothless gave a command and then the biggest dragons on Berk all blew out fire at the sky at the same time and it exploded, causing a grand firework effect in the air.

"Long live the Chieftess! Long live the Chief!" chanted the villagers. "Long live the Chieftess! Long live the Chief!"

All the dragons roared in agreement.

 **XXX**

Following the wedding ceremony came a fantastic party of feasting, dancing and song.

It lasted until sunset, at which point Lenora and Aster prepared to leave on their honeymoon. They were going to "their" island and would be there with Brightscales and Toothless for two weeks to enjoy some special, romantic quality time together before beginning their lives as Chieftess and Chief of Berk.

All of Berk was there to see them off. Each of the dragons promised to Toothless that they would protect Berk while he was gone and wished him a good time. The people of Berk all offered wishes of good luck to the newlyweds. Aster's parents remarked on how proud they were. Snotlout promised to annihilate Aster if he didn't treat Lenora like a queen before he and Aster smiled and shook hands. Gobber offered his blessings. And then just before Lenora and Aster left, Stoick and Val's turn came.

"Congratulations, my sweet light. Have a safe journey," said Val. "I love you."

"I will, Mama," said Lenora. "I love you too."

Stoick hugged Lenora. "I'll see you in two weeks, then?"

"Two weeks," promised Lenora. She kissed her father's cheek. "I love you, Daddy. Thank you, for everything." She was so grateful to have a father like Stoick in her life. She didn't know where she'd be without him.

"I love you too, Nora," said Stoick. He glanced at Toothless. "Toothless, you look after them both, you hear?"

Toothless purred and nodded as he wrapped his tail around Lenora, causing her to smile as she rubbed Toothless' ears.

"And Aster, welcome to the family…son," said Stoick. "You take care."

Aster smiled as he wrapped an arm around Lenora's shoulders. "Thank you, Stoick."

Toothless even gave his mark of approval by licking Aster's cheek and nuzzling his hand.

Lenora chuckled. _That's my family._ And she wouldn't trade them for the world.

After loading up their luggage onto Brightscales, Lenora and Aster got onto Toothless' back and waved good-bye as they flew away to their honeymoon destination.

The village of Berk.

There were times when it got trampled and busted and once in a while, covered in ice but it was Lenora's home. It was everyone's home. Those who attacked Berk were relentless and crazy. But those who stopped them were even more so. Berk's residents may have been small in number, but they stood for something bigger than anything the world could pit against them. They were the voice of peace and bit by bit, they would change the world because they had something no one else did. Most places had armies and armadas, but Berk had their dragons.


End file.
